The ongoing digital revolution in the insurance space is heating up competition and driving established insurers to rethink how they operate and respond to market trends and policyholder demands. At the same time, insuretech startups have emerged across the space, offering innovative solutions that make for a more seamless and engaging policyholder experience.
While insurers seek ways to modernize their operations and become more responsive to changing market dynamics, insuretechs have shown to be viable partners that can help them adapt to the digital age and become more policyholder-centric.
Below, we will explore the emergence of insuretech startups and discuss how they are reshaping the insurance landscape to offer more policyholder engagement and agility than what’s been traditionally offered.
The Rise of Insuretech Startups
The global insuretech marketplace is quickly growing, with one recent report showing that the industry is slated for a 50.78% CAGR from 2023-2030. From this impressive outlook, it’s clear that burgeoning insuretech startups and their innovative approach to insurance are starting to reshape the traditional insurance industry.
Incumbent insurers haven’t always been quick to adopt new technologies, and these new market entrants are leading the way, providing more innovative and digital-forward experiences that modern consumers are looking for. Now, experienced insurers are starting to realize they need to rethink how they approach the policyholder experience and technology in general if they want to remain relevant in the insurance sector going forward.
According to Accenture, 86% of insurers believe they must innovate increasingly rapidly to stay competitive. Leveraging the power of modern insuretech solutions, established insurers can reinvent their processes to become more efficient and policyholder-forward by:
- Offering self-service portals for policyholders to manage/access policy details in their own time
- Supporting quicker and more efficient claims processing and policy underwriting
- Providing custom/more affordable pricing options based on policyholder data and advanced data analytics
Customer-Centric Approach
By design, insuretechs offer a more policyholder-centric approach than traditional insurers, making the policyholder experience much more streamlined and straightforward. In the past, policyholders were more accepting of a slower and lower standard of service that was all too common in the insurance industry. But today’s consumers have raised their standards from what they expect from service providers like insurers. They aren’t afraid to switch to a different insurer if they feel they can get a better experience elsewhere.
Another report from Accenture shows that 30% of policyholders who had a negative claims experience said they switched insurers, and another 47% considered it. Interestingly, many insurance leaders, 79% of those surveyed, believe that automation, artificial intelligence, and data analytics can improve the claims process.
Thus, it’s clear that the innovative solutions offered by insuretech companies can provide incredible value for traditional insurers and help them deliver the experience that policyholders are looking for and expect in today’s modern age. Startups prioritize the user experience by offering quicker and more efficient service and are dedicated to tailoring insurance solutions to meet the unique needs of policyholders.
Digital Distribution Channels
One of the biggest areas where insuretechs can boost engagement with policyholders is through digital distribution channels like mobile apps or online platforms. The convenience and accessibility offered by such digital channels are things that a large portion of today’s consumers are looking for. This functionality can make insurers stand out from their competitors if this is something they offer.
In today’s digital age, policyholders want to be able to access and manage their policies online or file a claim without having to speak with their agent over the phone or visit the insurance office in person. Insuretechs that make this user-friendly digital access possible can boost policyholder engagement with their insurer and allow more consumers to browse and purchase policies online.
Personalization and Data-Driven Insights
Modern policyholders aren’t looking for a one-size-fits-all insurance solution; they expect more personalized products and pricing, which insuretechs can provide using their advanced tech capabilities. By some estimates, 88% of policyholders demand more personalization from insurers. So, we can gather that many policyholders today are more willing to engage with and consider policies from insurers that meet these demands.
Insuretechs can improve insurers’ abilities to offer personalization using advanced data analytics of policyholder data. This allows them to provide personalized policies tailored to the individual’s unique risk profile and insurance coverage needs. With this, policyholders enjoy a more customized experience, and insurers can earn a competitive edge over their stagnant peers.
Innovative Policy Offerings
Insuretechs can also help insurers improve policyholder engagement by offering more innovative and flexible policy options to address policyholder needs more accurately. Offering such policies can help insurers stand out in the crowded marketplace. These innovative policy offerings might include:
- On-demand insurance: The ability for policyholders to purchase coverage for specific events as needed, which can be more suitable for modern consumers with more flexible lifestyles
- Microinsurance: An affordable and simplified insurance coverage option for low-income or underserved populations
- Peer-to-peer insurance: An innovative insurance solution where individuals pool their resources and cover each other’s losses when they make a claim
Take Advantage of the Opportunities in Insuretech with Insuresoft
As the insuretech industry continues to grow substantially over the coming decade, there is plenty of opportunity for established insurers to collaborate with these startups as a way to offer a more engaging and policyholder-centric experience. Doing so will help them stay competitive in this consumer-focused environment.
By partnering with Insuresoft, insurers can modernize their solutions for a faster-paced and more technology-driven marketplace. For instance, our customer communication management platform and cloud-based self-service portals give policyholders instant access to important insurance documents, policy status, claims information, forms, billing, and more — all at their convenience.
As policyholders demand more digital and flexible offerings from the insurance industry, Insuresoft allows insurance carriers to offer a web-based policyholder experience that helps them stand out to consumers.
Contact Insuresoft to take advantage of the power of insuretech in your operations.
