Explaining how technology helps the insurance consumers was Arvind Tiwary, Chief Operating Officer, Apex Technologies. Tiwary was in Delhi last week for the insurance seminar organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII).

Says Tiwary: ``To understand how consumers can benefit, we must first see what our clients (insurance companies) can do with technology.'' Speaking from his international experience, he talks about the recent Indonesian riots. With the backing of good technology, insurance companies were able to make an estimate of damage payments and settled claims quickly. So, when insurance companies have the database in place, claim settlement becomes easier, he says.

Tiwary equates the use of IT in the insurance sector with the ATM in the banking sector. It's a similar convenience, he says. For those who know which insurance product to buy, need to just pick up the phone and make a deal. This is ideal for frequent fliers who need an insurance for three to four days. Self-assisted selling, says Tiwary, saves the consumer a lot of his time. Like in the case of ATM.

Another relevant point that Tiwary makes is that technology doesn't just help the affluent. ``It's a wrong notion that technology doesn't help the masses,'' he says. Of course, it can't be everything for everybody, but we need to stay clear of the blinders, he adds. A fine example of how technology can be a hit with the masses is the Suvidha scheme floated by Citibank sometime ago, elaborates Tiwary. It's a unique ATM facility with a low minimum deposit and a large chunk of its clientele is from a modest income group.

Says Tiwary that there are a lot of blinders about the use of technology and its impact. The ongoing agitation by the staff of LIC and GIC, probably, indicates towards a similar blinder. But as far as impact of technology on consumers is concerned, Tiwary says that it's all a question of being made available and sold.

That is, technology-savvy products, be it for banking or insurance, will be bought by people, provided they have access to these products. How else would you explain the phenomenon of one accident insurance cover per person (on an average) in Shanghai?

Commenting on the general resistance to the opening up of the insurance sector, Tiwary says that competition is always good. ``What competition does to the consumer is wonderful,'' he adds. Take for instance the auto industry. With the entry of new players, the quality of cars improved and prices fell, he explains. It was a win-win game, as Tiwary puts it.Elaborating on how Apex will function in India, Tiwary says that Apex has tied up with IBM.

In this arrangement, Apex will provide the complete IT solutions in issue of policies, servicing, billing, solvency calculation, claims, reserves, etc. And IBM will sell and support the system.

Talking of other countries, Tiwary says that Indonesia's problems are very much like India's. Indonesia too has state-run insurance companies like LIC and GIC. And that there was resistance to the entry of foreign players there also.

Hong Kong, he says, is the most competitive in Asia with 300 insurers in a city. He adds that one get a car insurance in Hong Kong in just 5 minutes.That, precisely, is the benefit of technology and competition in any market. The insurance sector and its consumers too can ride on the fast lane. To make that happen, the government, consultants and experts in the industry must put in a lot of hard work and educate consumers, says Tiwary.

As of now, Apex clients include Allianz in Singapore, Indonesia, Thailand, Hong Kong and China; Mitsui Marine & Fire Insurance Group in Japan, Indonesia, Singapore, Thailand and Malaysia; Sumitomo Marine & Fire Insurance Co. in Singapore, Hong Kong and Indonesia.

In all this, the Apex goal is to provide the best of breed technology solutions for insurance companies resulting in speeding up of business processes and facilitating improved customer service. And the focus: Emerging areas such as the Internet for new distribution channels, groupware technology for better office coordination and improving workflowmanagement techniques for better knowledge management.