expectations in the age of insurtech€¦ · it is not just about customer acquisition - but...

EXPECTATIONS IN THE AGE OF INSURTECH

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Coverager | 2

With an intelligence platform that tracks funding, partnerships, technology use cases, and external threats across lines of business, Coverager delivers research & analysis with a creative tone for companies that want to learn from the past, understand the present and better bet on the future.

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In a PR-driven industry, Coverager digs deep to separate facts from fiction delivering a daily newsletter on insurance innovation.

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about Coverager

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surveyed

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In Q4, 2018, we asked the Coverager audience one simple question:

what are the expectations of startups & carriers when working together?

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responded

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11 ‘startups’.

5 ‘other’.

4 carriers.

‘Startups’ or ‘carriers’ definition are based on how respondents view the company they work for.

‘Other’ are either technology providers or intermediaries (agents/brokers).

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“EVERYONE IS TRANSPARENT AND IMMEDIATELY HONEST ABOUT THE SPEED AT WHICH THEY CAN MOVE AND WHAT THEY ARE ABLE TO DO / NOT DO. EVERY CONVERSATION SHOULD CONCLUDE WITH CLEAR NEXT STEPS, EVEN IF IT’S A DECISION TO NOT MOVE FORWARD.

”

STARTUP

Source: Coverager survey results

Coverager asked: what are the expectations of startups and carriers when working together?

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“CLEAR SPECS; POINT OF CONTACT TO RESOLVE ISSUES.

”STARTUP



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“(1) TIME AND ABILITY TO OFFER EXPERTISE AND ADVICE IN REGARDS TO REGULATORY ISSUES AND INSURANCE OPERATIONS, (2) WILLINGNESS TO ALLOW INNOVATION TO HAPPEN, AND (3) OPEN LINES OF COMMUNICATION WHILE BUILDING THE PRODUCT AND AFTER LAUNCH.

”

STARTUP



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“WE WILL COEXIST IN SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIPS. STARTUPS MUST OFFER VALUE TO CARRIERS - WE MUST DELIVER SOLUTIONS THAT CARRIERS HAVEN’T THOUGHT OF, OR ARE UNABLE TO DEVELOP WITHIN THE CONSTRAINTS OF THEIR COMPANIES. CARRIERS SHOULD LOOK AT STARTUPS AS ENABLERS WHO CAN HELP SOLVE CUSTOMER PROBLEMS BY TAKING NEW/DIFFERENT APPROACHES AND THEREFORE ENHANCING THE CUSTOMER EXPERIENCE.

”

STARTUP



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“VALIDATED LEARNINGS.

”STARTUP



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“CARRIERS MOVE AT A GLACIAL PACE...YOU HAVE TO BE PREPARED FOR A LOT OF MEETINGS...AND WHEN IT COMES TO DOING SOMETHING NEW OR INNOVATIVE...YOU HAVE TO FIND A WAY TO OVERCOME A STRONG, INSTITUTIONALIZED AVERSION TO RISK.

”

STARTUP



one startup described the experience as...

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1. Get contacted by business users within an insurer that want to see the value of our product.

2. Start a ridiculously long procurement process with worker drones that just tick boxes:

‘Drone: Please send us the past 5 years of Financial statements. Me: We are a startup, we only have 2 years of accounts.

Drone: Does not compute!??! Please send us 5 years of financial statements’.’

3. If you beat the procurement bots, the insurer’s IT department then throws up endless pointless questions in a thinly veiled attempt to protect their little IT kingdom because they don’t want to disrupt their cushy little number maintaining legacy systems.

4. The decision might finally get to the board, where they suck their teeth because Jim at their golf club once invested in a tech co. in the 90s and lost some money in the dot com boom (and thus all these tech startups must be risky). The board resolve to

hire IBM (or other software house) to attempt to replicate the product you were offering...it only costs 10 times the original price, but thankfully there’s no risk because IBM never fails to deliver!

5. Fast forward a year and IBM have just hashed together something that kind of does part of what was wanted by the business and it was only double the original cost estimate. Bargain! Originally business users remain frustrated, and are well behind plan because they had to spend so much time hand-holding IBM to get the semi-functioning system.

6. The procurement department are happy as they got their 5 years of accounts from IBM, the IT dept have another half-working system that they can get more budget to maintain, IBM have cashed-in, the Board gives themselves a bonus for another successfully delivered project. Seems like only those pesky business users that aren’t happy. But don’t worry...Jim at the golf club said that something called AI will replace them pretty soon!



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“DON’T EXPECT THE WORLD IF YOU’RE NOT WILLING TO PAY FOR THE WORLD.

”STARTUP



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“PROVIDE A TURNKEY SOLUTION THAT’S NOT HARD FOR ME TO INTEGRATE INTO MY EXISTING PROCESS. THAT MEANS DOI APPROVALS, SYSTEMS, THE FORM, ETC. IS ALL SET UP AND READY TO GO.

”

CARRIER



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“INNOVATION THEATRE.

”CARRIER



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“STARTUPS MUST ENSURE THEY HAVE COMMERCIAL/ BUSINESS DEVELOPMENT SKILLS IN THE TEAM. MOST DIFFICULTIES ARISE WHEN STARTUPS HAVE EXCELLENT TECHNICAL/ PRODUCT SKILLS BUT DON’T KNOW HOW TO NAVIGATE COMMERCIAL/ PARTNERSHIP ARRANGEMENTS WITH THE INCUMBENTS.

”

CARRIER



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“MUTUALLY BENEFICIAL EXCHANGE THAT WOULD ULTIMATELY RESULT IN IMPLEMENTATION OR DATA EXCHANGE.

”

CARRIER



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“CARRIERS HAVE A TOUGH TIME TRUSTING STARTUPS; STARTUPS GET FRUSTRATED WITH THE TIME AND RED TAPE IT TAKES CARRIERS TO GET THINGS DONE.

”



OTHER

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“THE STARTUP SHOULD AT LEAST TEACH THE CARRIER ABOUT WHAT’S ON THE HORIZON IN THE INSURANCE SPACE..

”



OTHER

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“1+1=7

”



OTHER

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“SEEKING HONEST PEOPLE WHO UNDERSTAND THAT RISK IS REAL AND A SHARED RESPONSIBILITY. IT IS NOT JUST ABOUT CUSTOMER ACQUISITION - BUT INSTEAD ABOUT PROFITABLE CUSTOMER ACQUISITION THAT WORKS FOR THE CONSUMER, PROGRAM MANAGER AND INSURANCE COMPANY OR OTHER RISK TAKERS. FURTHER - TIME IS MONEY AND THE OXYGEN OF STARTUPS SO RESPECT THE VALUE OF TIME AND PROVIDE REALISTIC AND RELIABLE ANSWERS.

”



OTHER

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thank you, Coverager

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Photos via unsplash.com.

expectations in the age of insurtech€¦ · it is not just about customer acquisition - but...

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