Suomi.fi e-Authorizations helped Ilmarinen increase e-service usage by 30 per cent

Employment pension company Ilmarinen has introduced Suomi.fi e-Authorizations gradually in its services since December 2023. The e-Authorizations service has increased the annual use of e-services by one third among Ilmarinen's employer customers and improved customer satisfaction. The implementation process has also clarified Ilmarinen's internal operations and deepened its understanding of the service needs of client organisations.

In December 2023, Ilmarinen introduced Suomi.fi e-Authorizations offered by the Digital and Population Data Services Agency in its e-services for employers. In autumn 2024, the use of e-Authorizations was extended to telephone-based TyEL and YEL services. The plan is to further expand the use of the service to the entrepreneur's e-services in early 2025. Alongside Suomi.fi e-Authorizations, Ilmarinen also uses Suomi.fi e-Identification.

Suomi.fi e-Authorizations streamlines the use of e-services

At Ilmarinen, Suomi.fi e-Authorizations enables two different ways of acting on behalf of an organisation: based on register data and as an assignee.

Acting on behalf of another party based on register data offers entrepreneurs or managing directors, for example, an easy way to manage company affairs. With Suomi.fi e-Authorizations, Ilmarinen automatically receives up-to-date information on the organisation's mandates from official registers.

Acting on behalf of another party as an assignee allows the organisation's employees to represent the organisation. In this case, the person can only see the information to which they have been granted access.

Read more about Suomi.fi e-Authorizations at Ilmarinen

• Employer's mandates
• Entrepreneur's mandates

Common practices for the employment pension sector

The introduction of e-Authorizations was a careful process in which Ilmarinen cooperated with other employment pension insurers, the Finnish Centre for Pensions and the Digital and Population Data Services Agency. Particular attention was paid to the identification and definition of different user groups. As the first employment pension company that introduced Suomi.fi e-Authorizations, Ilmarinen also promoted the creation of sector-wide practices for acting as an assignee.

"The introduction was carefully planned, and a great deal of attention was paid to the roles of employer companies and the Suomi.fi e-Authorizations they need. It was also necessary to determine what services should be visible to different register roles," says Pia Hildén, who was responsible for Ilmarinen's Suomi.fi development project.

With Suomi.fi e-Authorizations, client organisations can now manage matters such as TyEL and YEL insurance, work ability, rehabilitation and disability. In addition, companies can authorise an accounting firm to act on their behalf, for example.

"In terms of service reliability and security, it's essential that individuals can only access information that their e-service role authorises them to see," Hildén emphasises.

e-Authorizations increased customer satisfaction with e-services

Before the introduction of e-Authorizations, Ilmarinen used mandates for transactions and a separate access management process based on user IDs and passwords. Ilmarinen wanted to eliminate user IDs and their management, as the data protection and security needs related to e-services have developed over the years. Customers also expressed a wish to use e-Authorizations: using e-services with e-Authorizations is easy and familiar for them from other connections. Identification in the service takes place with your online banking codes or mobile ID.

"One of our key goals is to develop and promote digital services, and the introduction of e-Authorizations was a big push forward. The service helped us increase the annual use of e-services by about 30 per cent. It has also increased customer satisfaction with e-services," says Minna Hakkarainen, Head of Department at Ilmarinen.

A reliable and cost-effective system that meets current and future needs

While the introduction of e-Authorizations went smoothly, it was implemented as part of a wider system reform, which was a great but rewarding effort for Ilmarinen as a whole. The cross-unit work united and increased cooperation within the company.

"We now have a reliable and cost-effective system that meets our customers' current and future needs. The investment in planning and introduction has paid for itself very quickly. This cost-effective solution is part of the responsible use of employment pension funds," says Hildén.

Shared solutions pave the way for wider digitalisation of society

Ilmarinen wants to be involved in promoting the digitalisation of society and praises smooth cooperation with the Digital and Population Data Services Agency.

"It's great that we have shared solutions in Finland that have already considered all the critical issues and are familiar to customers. We hope for even wider digitalisation of society in the future and definitely want to be part of it," Hildén concludes.