Insurtech startups are more willing to experiment than ever as the sector evolves, according to speakers at S&P Global’s Insurtech Breakfast briefing, held Thursday, November 7th in New York.
Insurtechs are flourishing because they are using new business models to create new kinds of relationships with customers, said S&P research analyst Thomas Mason, comparing them to major entrants in other industries.
“One of the companies that caused the biggest disruption is Netflix, because they focused primarily on digital interaction for customers,” Mason noted.
Panelist Tim Attia, Co-Founder of Slice Labs, was cited as an example due to its success in launching a turnkey product for on-demand, pay-per-use insurance Attia shared, “We wanted to look at a new way to do insurance which is more on-demand and digital. We wanted to eliminate filling out five pages by giving consumers more of the Uber experience. Going after on-demand companies with an on-demand experience equals customer [satisfaction].”
Drew Aldrich, Principal for American Family Ventures, said that insurtechs solving for distribution is a key value of their entry into the industry. However, carriers still need to be strategic in choosing partners.
“On demand is better for customers in some situations, but a drawback is the time when you have to resell versus a typical annual policy,” he said.
But with courage – and capital – insurtechs can help guide carrier partners throught he transformation of the industry. “There has to be a business model innovation,” Attia says “The disruption [of the market] may have happened already.”
