how identity management empowers Baloise to launch new initiatives

bringing services directly to customers

“Innovation has a high priority at Baloise”, says Jeroen Hulshof, Chief Information Security Officer at Baloise Belgium. “With our Simply Safe strategy, we focus on protecting and diversifying our core business while also going beyond traditional insurance. An outstanding digital consumer experience is at the core of all these activities. So, to achieve this next-level experience all countries and departments were asked to think about how they wanted to put Simply Safe into action.” As Jeroen explains, the Belgian finance and insurance market is traditionally broker-oriented, which meant that Baloise at the time didn’t have a direct customer solution in the past. However, the market is rapidly evolving and Baloise recognised the importance of offering its services directly to consumers. And for this, they would need a B2C identity and access management (IAM) solution.

strict requirements and a mobile customer base

Launching an all-new IAM platform for customers brings many challenges. Naturally, the login system would have to be extremely user-friendly yet highly secure and transparent. And it would have to be optimised for use on mobile devices, which the majority of consumers now use to access their financial information. Other requirements included simple onboarding with a one-minute sign-up, and support of external identities such as public and social IDs. “On the other hand, we would need to deal with the increased frequency and sophistication of hacking attacks with a strong focus on identity theft, as well as tougher regulations that protect consumer transactions and personal privacy”, Jeroen adds.