Episode 143 - Inside Jubilee Insurance's Digital Transformation & J-Force Insurance Agents App with George Makori

In my latest episode of the Pure Digital Passion Podcast, I had an insightful conversation with George Makori, the Head of Digital Innovation at Jubilee Insurance. Our discussion focused on Jubilee's ambitious digital transformation journey and how their latest innovation, J-Force, is set to revolutionize insurance distribution in Kenya.The Digital Transformation of Jubilee InsuranceFew players in Kenya's insurance sector are embracing digital transformation at the scale and ambition of Jubilee Insurance. As George shared, they are undertaking a US$20 million investment to drive digital transformation across life, health, and general insurance lines within the business.This isn't just about building apps. It's a wholesale restructuring of operations, technology, and customer experience. Their strategy revolves around four core pillars:1) Robotics Process Automation (RPA): Reducing manual, repetitive tasks and freeing up teams to focus on customer engagement and value-adding activities.2) Data Integration: Consolidating data across seven entities into a unified data lake to enable a 360-degree view of customers.3) Cloud Migration: The Group is now 100% cloud-based, leveraging platforms like Azure, AWS, and Oracle Cloud to drive scale, agility, and resilience.4) Enhanced Customer Experience: From onboarding to claims, every process is being optimized to deliver seamless, digital-first customer journeys.George emphasized that Jubilee's ambition is to move beyond being an insurance business- it is fast becoming a data-driven business, leveraging technology at every level.AI in Claims Processing: Driving Scale and EfficiencyOne major highlight from our discussion was Jubilee's use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in claims processing. George revealed that they are now processing 12,000 claims daily using machine learning models - a shift that's significantly improving efficiency while reducing costs.This allows the business to not only accelerate service delivery but also minimize human error, setting new operational standards in the local insurance sector.Enter J-Force: Transforming Insurance Distribution in KenyaThe latest aspect of Jubilee Insurance's digital transformation is J-Force - an innovation aimed directly at empowering the intermediary network of insurance agents and brokers. George explained that intermediaries account for over 60% of Jubilee's business across its insurance lines. Yet, the process of engaging with the business has traditionally been manual, paperwork-heavy, and slow, creating bottlenecks in sales, policy issuance, claims, and commissions. J-Force was designed to solve these challenges by delivering a platform that is:1) Fully paperless and digitized end-to-end2) Real-time, offering instant visibility of leads, sales, and commissions3) Efficient, reducing commission cycles from 14 days to instant tracking4) Intuitive, thanks to an iterative design thinking approach informed by feedback from agents and brokersFor the first time, intermediaries now have access to a single platform that serves as their operating system - empowering them to onboard clients, manage sales, and track their business anytime, anywhere.Lessons from Jubilee's Digital PlaybookOne of the most powerful insights George shared was the importance of having all stakeholders at the table - from legal, IT, business, to compliance - right from the start. Some key lessons:1) Choose the right technology partners - lean and responsive InsurTechs with deep domain knowledge2) Blend agile and waterfall methodologies for speed and control3) Center the user experience, ensuring that the platform solves real-world pain pointsThese lessons go beyond insurance - they're applicable to any traditional business undertaking digital transformation in Kenya or Africa.