Munich Re’s ERGO has agreed on a life portfolio management partnership in cooperation with IBM Deutschland which will see the insurer migrate the management of its book of six million traditional life insurance contracts to a new IT platform.
Clemens Muth, member of the Executive Board of ERGO Group AG responsible for life and health insurance, said; “we want to migrate our book of business to a modern IT platform.
“This new IT platform from ERGO and IBM will also provide the opportunity for professional management of traditional life books for third parties after implementation.”
ERGO and IBM are collaborating to create the conditions that could bring an innovative product to the market; a platform that could offer the possibility of managing the contracts of other insurance companies.
Markus Koerner, Solution & ISBD Leader for DACH, IBM Global Technology Services added; “with our joint venture, we are creating an attractive offer for German life insurers who want to keep their holdings of classic life insurance policies in their own hands, but manage them efficiently.
“We are firmly convinced of the success of our cooperation. Not least because of this, in addition to the pure changeover we are also committed to the later operation of the platform for ERGO and other insurers.”
Michael Fauser, Chief Executive Officer of ERGO Lebensversicherung AG and Victoria Lebensversicherung AG, said; “for such a complex and lengthy process as an IT migration, good cooperation is particularly important. IBM convinced us in our intensive selection process.”
ERGO had been slated to sell off its life business but failed to find a bidder and so the sale process was withdrawn by management. This arrangement with IBM may be a sign that the firm is now investing to improve the performance of this book of life risk, rather than looking to dispose of it.
