FWD Group Holdings Limited (FWD Group or FWD), a prominent pan-Asian life insurance company, has announced a five-year technology services agreement with Amazon Web Services (AWS), reinforcing its cloud-first strategy across Asia.
Under this partnership, AWS will host FWD’s critical business applications, including finance, customer interfaces, and insurance agent platforms. The collaboration aims to enhance FWD’s agility, scalability, and resilience as it transitions from onsite data centers to the cloud.
Strategic Role of Cloud Computing at FWD Group
Sandeep Pandey, Group Chief Technology and Operations Officer at FWD Group, emphasized the strategic importance of cloud computing for the company.
“At FWD, cloud computing is a comprehensive business strategy, not merely a technology function priority. This digital-first approach has provided operational infrastructure and capabilities that are secure, cloud-based, and fully integrated across business functions and with partners like AWS. With these foundations, we can efficiently, effectively, and responsibly scale our generative artificial intelligence (AI) deployment, aligning with our vision to change how people perceive insurance,” Pandey stated. FWD has notably increased its cloud adoption, with 97% of its applications moved to the cloud by the end of 2023, up from 27% at the end of 2020. Additionally, 93% of applications identified for decommissioning have been retired.
AWS’s Support for the Insurance Industry
Francessca Vasquez, Vice President of Professional Services and Generative Artificial Intelligence Innovation Center at AWS, discussed AWS’s long-term support for the financial and insurance sectors.
“AWS has been assisting companies in the financial and insurance industry worldwide to better serve their customers with cloud and AI technologies for over a decade,” she said. “FWD Group’s ambition to leverage cloud and generative AI reflects their dedication to digital transformation and customer-centricity. We are excited to continue supporting FWD Group with AWS’s proven reliability and capabilities, helping them accelerate innovation, reduce costs, drive efficiency, and expand their business.”
FWD and AWS Partnership Initiatives
The partnership with AWS has enabled FWD to develop several initiatives, including Omne by FWD, a digital self-service and claims platform that has received positive customer feedback since its 2022 launch. AWS also assisted FWD in creating a cloud-based central finance hub for managing financial, investment, and actuarial data.
Between 2021 and 2023, FWD saw significant growth in cloud-related certifications, including those from the AWS Skills Guild program, which trained over 600 FWD employees and contractors.
FWD’s AI Initiatives
FWD’s digital cloud platform integrates analytics, database management, and AI to enhance development efficiency and security. This platform supports the company’s generative AI initiatives, aimed at improving customer experience and operational efficiency in areas such as acquisition, marketing, channel and agent performance, underwriting, claims, and customer service.
Since commencing its AI efforts in 2019, FWD has implemented nearly 200 AI models and over 600 use cases throughout its operations.
