iChain
Accelerating Innovation in the Insurance Industry

iChain, which went idependent through an MBO in June 2020 from its parent system development company since iChain’s establishment in April 2016, has positioned itself as an insuretech startup that delivers value through the fusion of insurance and digital technologies. As an independent enabler, iChain specializes in providing solutions from a neutral standpoint, without belonging to a specific insurance company or financial institution. iChain started developing its SaaS system for digital small-amount and short-term insurance companies. Growing from there, currently, it is now implementing a fully paperless SaaS insurance policy administration/management system targeting life and non-life insurance companies.“We develop insurance policy administration, maintenance, and claim/payment system platform that would be difficult to develop only by individual insurance companies, insurance agencies, and distributors from the consumer’s perspective,” notes Masanori Goto, Representative Director of iChain.
Guided by a vision to provide the end-customers with insurance products that are easier to understand and use, iChain accelerates innovation in the insurance industry. The company delivers three-pronged solutions—SSI Company Start-up Support, Policy Management System “iChainBase,” and Policy Management Mobile Application “iChain Insurance Wallet.”
While iChain provides a wide range of services related to SSI starting up, including planning, preparation, operational design after launching, and support for outsourcing, iChainBase is a SaaS insurance business platform with advanced UI and UX that can efficiently process policy administration operations such as policy information changes and insurance/benefit claims payment processing. “The development of iChainBase is handled by experienced personnel who have been involved in system development and insurance business at various insurance companies for many years,” says Hikaru Ishiguro, Director of iChain.
An insurance management mobile application for general end-customers, iChain Insurance Wallet is compatible with various insurance products underwritten by different companies in Japan or elsewhere. It enables the customer to centrally manage their own insurance information and that of family members.
In essence, iChain offers a one-stop solution to view, share, process, and store insurance information on a dedicated digital platform. By providing a digital insurance platform and seamlessly linking insurance companies and policyholders, the company can simultaneously improve the convenience of policyholders and the productivity of insurance companies. “We are facing a new era of digitalization that can develop insurance policy administration/management systems into a platform to help insurance companies reduce their IT costs, maintain the quality of insurance products, and improve price competitiveness and company sustainability. And we can support it,” comments Ryo Sakane, Director of iChain.
What sets iChain apart from its competitors is its capability to enable end-to-end digitalization with its platform from the perspective of consumers and policyholders beyond the framework of the traditional insurance industry. In the industry, technology service providers still operate under the influence of specific insurers or agencies, but as the independent enabler, iChain has already established the position to provide neutral across-the-industry service, which could be easily utilized by new entrants. To highlight the value proposition of iChain, Goto shares the success story of MICIN, a telemedicine startup. The company adopted iChainBase at its SSI subsidiary as the policy administration system for cancer recurrence insurance covering breast cancer, cervical cancer, and uterine cancer, which was sold by MICIN on August 25, 2021. In addition to the policy administration system based upon ‘iChainBase’, iChain provided a full package service that combines optional functions, including application sites, the policyholder’s My Pages, and the agency portal site.

On another occasion, when GEAR started a mutual aid business, iChain produced and developed everything from designing a product called “Smartphone Insurance Certificate” to building a business operation and operation system. GEAR also adopted the SaaS type insurance policy administration/ management system “iChainBase” to efficiently perform operations, including new business policy, policy maintenance and claim payment. Smartphone Insurance Certificate is an indemnification service that protects smartphones from various troubles. It pays the insurance amount when the policyholders incur repair costs due to damage, submergence, data recovery, or in the cases of damages beyond repair, theft or loss.
iChain released the “Uchino Hoken (My Insurance)” app as an OEM version of the “iChain Insurance Wallet” on December 1, 2021. Neo-First Life Insurance of the Dai-Ichi Life Group started to recommend using it to their policyholders, as the first insurer to do so. iChain plans to release additional features/functions from 2022 in stages. Steering ahead in Japan, iChain will develop SaaS type digital platform for establishing the new group of advanced digital insurance companies, which will compete with major domestic insurance companies. As for overseas growth, iChain brings their demonstrated value proposition to other Southeast Asian countries. The company will start by helping those countries promote insurance to improve the lives of the people by making high-quality insurance products and insurance coverage while reducing insurance premiums with low-cost IT and SaaS type insurance policy administration/management system platform.
The future looks bright for iChain.