CNO Financial Group has extended its technology partnership with Cognizant, aiming to optimise and enhance its technology-based services.  

Through the collaboration, Cognizant will integrate cloud and digital technologies including AI to improve CNO’s offerings.  

The partnership builds on an existing alliance since 2015. 

It will see Cognizant providing comprehensive technology services and leveraging generative AI (GenAI) to drive efficiencies across CNO’s technology landscape across applications, enterprise software, infrastructure and engineering. 

CNO, known for its life and health insurance, annuities, financial services and workforce benefits solutions, operates through a family of brands supported by associates and agents.  

The company boasts 3.2 million policies in force and assets totalling $35bn.  

The partnership with Cognizant is also expected to enhance service delivery to this customer base. 

Earlier this month, CNO disclosed its financial results for the fourth quarter (Q4) and the full year ended 31 December 2023.  

The company reported net income of $36.3m, or $0.32 per diluted share, for Q4 2023, a slight decrease from $38m, or $0.33 per diluted share, in the same quarter of the previous year.  

Annual net income for 2023 stood at $276.5m, or $2.40 per diluted share, compared with $630.6m, or $5.36 per diluted share, in 2022. 

CNO Financial Group chief information officer Mike Mead said: “At CNO, we are committed to partnerships that help us enhance our technology experience, improve our service delivery and efficiency, and build integrated capabilities to continuously improve how we support our customers, associates and agents. 

“By continuing to partner with Cognizant, CNO will continue to leverage tools that can further boost productivity and build on our capabilities around automation, artificial intelligence, technology transformation and process optimisation.”  

Cognizant North America insurance business unit leader Sarat Varanasi said: “We are thrilled to continue our partnership with CNO on their transformation journey and help the company enhance their customers’ experience. 

“We are looking forward to bringing Cognizant’s expertise from across our service portfolio, GenAI investments and ecosystem partnerships to support CNO’s mission and strategic business priorities.” 

In November last year, Cognizant was chosen by Alm. Brand Group, a Danish insurance company, for an automation contract.  

Cognizant’s role involved automating a wide range of business processes for Alm. Brand Group, which had previously outsourced these tasks to other vendors.