Our Partnership Down Under
After spending some months down under this year I have understood that for the kiwis one of the most important things is to protect their Aotearoa. Just as important as it is to greet visitors with a kind “Kia ora” and they really go above and beyond to make you feel welcomed.
Cloud Insurance got their first “Kia ora” email back in July 2021, when New Zealand Police Association had found us online looking for a system to replace their current Policy administration system that could provide them with a; “first class digital customer service experience”, to quote Bryan McConnell, COO at NZPA.
Discovery
After the initial contact and demo of our solution we went through a Discovery phase together where we determined our problem-solution fit, product fit/market fit and business model fit. We also had a risk assessment around topics like hosting setup, support and maintenance. On the back of this phase we also provided an end report with all our findings so that NZPA could make an informed decision on next steps.
I think it is safe to say that this was our initial dating phase where we learned about each other's cultures and ways of working, in addition to the more formal parts of a Discovery. And we agreed that once the borders would open for us to enter New Zealand that we would be there in a heartbeat.
Pilot
We must have done something right, because “the swipe right” came and we continued our talks and also put in place a pilot during the months of March 2022 - July 2022. The pilot proved a feasible product that functions in the health insurance space in New Zealand.
In May 2022 we had our first trip down under when a couple of my colleagues and I were finally able to meet the people we had been working with for months over video calls.
The next phase of work was a more substantial build of a pilot that required both configuration and development to succeed.Throughout this phase, Cloud Insurance partnered with our in-house experts and sought to really understand the problems we were aiming to solve. The timeline was short and everyone involved put in 110% in order to make it a success. The Cloud Insurance team came down to New Zealand and having their presence here meant that delivery and the successful go live was supported by very strong individuals.
-Bryan McConnell, COO, NZPA
Full implementation & contract signature
On the back of the pilot we started the full implementation project and signed Cloud Insurance’s biggest contract yet. A 15 year contract shows trust and commitment to our partnership and we are very much excited for what the future will bring.
We are so ready to get this show on the road and let all the members use our member portal to look at their policy benefits and file claims directly through the portal. In addition to making it so much easier for claims handlers to just assess the claim directly in our system without having to upload, download and “whatnot” paper based forms.
What will make this successful
A strong partnership is built on a strong foundation of trust, honesty, transparency and loyalty and I have experienced myself on-site a robust organisation led by a solid leader in Bryan, who ensures an organisation filled with happy, healthy and thriving employees. Thankfully Bryan also agrees that we have built a strong partnership, so I will let him have the final words.
Cloud Insurance has become a valued partner and feels like part of our team. We see Cloud Insurance being the right partner to provide a great customer experience now and in the future.
- Bryan McConnell, COO, NZPA
About Cloud Insurance
We help entrepreneurs to launch their digital health insurance offering quickly and smoothly by enabling them to integrate all the tools into one tech ecosystem, and leverage a mix of high-quality standard and unique features while keeping costs down. Learn more about our features here.
