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Allianz Trade and BPL have launched a tool allowing the instant digital transfer of information for non-payment insurance enquiries, described as a first-of-its-kind collaboration for the industry. 

The initiative uses application programming interfaces (APIs) to transfer information between the two companies’ systems, meaning underwriters are no longer required to enter data manually. 

Following a successful proof of concept, insurer Allianz Trade and credit and political risk insurance (CPRI) broker BPL jointly announced the full launch of the tool on June 18. 

“The initiative looks to overhaul the inefficiencies plaguing underwriters when receiving broker enquiries in the bank non-payment insurance space,” the announcement says. 

Faced with more than 10,000 enquiries per year, underwriters are typically required to grapple with “swathes of unstructured, unstandardised information in myriad formats, representing significant time and resource costs, risk of human error and a critical constraint on market growth”, it adds. 

The initiative is integrated with Whitespace, a digital trading platform created by data analytics firm Verisk that enables brokers and underwriters to offer, place and bind contracts. 

Sian Aspinall, group chief executive at BPL, hails the collaboration as “solving our collective pain point and catalysing market growth”, and calls on the wider industry to consider adoption. 

“We took care to ensure the standardised framework that underpins the integration could work for our whole market,” she says. 

“Our proven model is built to be scaled and we collectively encourage our market to consider joining by accessing the system either through an API or simply through the Whitespace platform itself.” 

Christophe White, Allianz Trade’s global head of speciality credit, adds: “While flawless data entry is critical, it is more efficiently managed through an API plug-in, freeing up time for our underwriters to add more value for our clients. 

“While we are delighted to already be reaping the benefits, the next step is sharing these efficiencies more widely.” 

Historically, the buying and selling of policies has typically involved a cumbersome process of collecting and exchanging information between brokers and underwriters. 

In 2021, Allianz Trade – then called Euler Hermes – struck up a collaboration with BPL to integrate their internal systems for CPRI requests using Whitespace APIs. 

The project, praised at the time as a “digital first” and a “breakthrough” for the duo, enabled the broker to place a cover request with the insurer without having to use the Whitespace platform directly.