Allianz : sets up open platform

Nolte: The model has several components. Inside, we have the aforementioned Open Source Edition which everyone can access and that is part of our ABS core. On top of that, we have what we call Country Layers for each country. The Country Layer for Germany, for example, has all the functions relevant to insurance in the German market - meaning the legal and regulatory requirements. It doesn't contain anything that we can't pass along for legal reasons, or things we don't want to pass along, such as the rationale behind our rate plans. The Country Layer makes it possible to process policies, claims and benefits. Then on top of that, there's a Company Layer, which each company puts together individually for itself (with products, rate plans, etc).

Mascher: Let me explain it using car insurance as an example. The ABS core provides the base functions for the client, policy, claims, etc. The Country Layer for Germany has the specifics about vehicle approvals for use in the market, registrations and testing. The third layer, the respective Company Layer, is where individual insurers can then put their own specific products and rate plans.

Nolte: With the ABS core and the Country Layer, the so-called Enterprise Edition, one can manage policies, benefits and claims - and do so as efficiently as possible with a high level of automation. On top of that, there's one more very important component of the open platform: the marketplace. We want to set up a marketplace where value-added services are offered.