Toronto-based Sun Life Financial Inc. is partnering with Toronto-based MaRS Discovery District in an effort to expand the insurance firm’s digital innovation efforts.
The partnership will connect Sun Life to startup companies that are developing products in the areas of financial services and health.
“Our partnership with MaRS will provide unique opportunities to share ideas and collaborate with startups on cutting-edge solutions designed to help our clients when it comes to their finances, health and well-being,” says Kevin Dougherty, president of Sun Life Financial Canada, in a statement released on Monday.
The collaboration with MaRS is an extension of the firm’s effort in developing financial technology, or fintech, that provides clients with multiple ways to connect digitally with Sun Life. The firm’s current digital offering includes an app for group plan members who want to submit their claims through their mobile device and a “digital benefits assistant” that uses data and analytics to provide real-time, personalized advice to group members.
“Health, as we know it, is radically being redefined, [which is] driven by consumers, technology and the inability of formal health systems to deliver services that meet the needs and expectations of society,” says Zayna Khayat, senior advisor of health system innovation at MaRS, in a statement. “With this, health plans and insurers are undergoing a major reconceptualization of their business models and value propositions.”
Sun Life joins other financial services firms such Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce and Manulife Financial Corp., both based in Toronto, in working with MaRS.
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