March at The Fintech Times is all about insurtech and its many facets. With the industry making leaps and bounds over the past few years, insurtechs are providing the much-needed disruption of the traditionally viewed, and sometimes outdated insurance industry. From innovations in technology and applications to key industries like property, auto and energy, this month we’ll be taking a look at some of the key topics in the sector and how insurance really is the one to watch.
With this in mind, we have spoken to some of the leading players in the industry to find out more of the pandemics impact on property insurance, and how insurtech has risen up in its wake to progress the industry.
Embracing technology
Jon Coppin, sales & partnerships director at Aventus, the insurance platform, said: “Certainly one of the biggest impacts of the pandemic on insurtech generally has been the shift in mindset by insurers and intermediaries of the need to embrace technology, and in particular the use of data, to meet and exceed changing customer expectations.
“It was a process that was already underway, but the pandemic served to accelerate it. The potential that has arisen from API integrations and the use of data, in particular, has opened a whole world of possibilities for more accurate underwriting, pricing, cross-sell opportunity, improved customer journeys and customer retention and this has been felt perhaps most keenly in Property.
“New innovative data integrations through platforms like Aventus now allow insurers, brokers and MGAs to have a granular view of property risks – down to individual dwellings, not just based on postcode, but also the materials used for construction and predicted rebuild cost for standard and non-standard property. Aventus has connected with a wide range of third-party data sources already and is adding more all the time as innovative brokers and insurers identify new data sources to partner with.
“The result is that it’s more profitable for the insurers, it gives a broker a key point of differentiation to offer such excellent service, and ultimately it is better for the customer who gets tailored cover fast, at the right price.”
The impact of the pandemic
Meeri Savolainen, co-founder and co-CEO of Berlin HQ’ed insurtech, INZMO, thinks that the pandemic has had a noticeable impact on people’s professional and personal circumstances and ‘many have seen their finances squeezed’.
She says: “As a result, financial pressures typically associated with renting a property have been exacerbated with rental deposits in some cities becoming prohibitively expensive.
“In many European cities, tenants have to source around three months’ rent upfront which for example in Berlin for a one to two bed flat would amount to c. €2,400 – a significant drain on anyone’s finances and arguably more so post-pandemic.
“This has led to the rise of insurtech solutions aimed at supporting the private rental market, particularly in countries such as Germany where around 85 per cent of the population rents. Solutions include deposit replacement arrangements where instead of the upfront three-month deposit, tenants pay only a relatively small sum per month as a premium.
“In addition to providing a more affordable and fairer financing option for tenants, it simplifies the process and takes the admin burden away from landlords, letting agents and property management companies. They can offer the solution to tenants at the point of application and can let their properties out more quickly. Handling all of those deposits is time-consuming and highly regulated, and the rental deposit solution takes the hassle away from landlords as well as the need to transfer large sums of money.”
Technological advances
Julio Pernía Aznar is the co-founder and CEO of Bdeo, a fast-growing insurtech startup changing the insurance industry through automation, innovation, and trust with Visual Intelligence technology.
He said: “When talking about home insurance, the role of technology in helping insurance companies carry out video-first operations has been crucial in many moments. For example, even during the strictest periods of COVID-19 confinement, home claims were still occurring. We all spent a lot of time in our homes, and we still had issues arise. For instance, humidity on walls as a result of a burst pipe, broken glass-ceramic hobs, or even broken bathroom fixtures.
“And despite the confinements, all of these damages had to be repaired. Technology which made it possible to carry out these operations via video, avoiding the need for loss adjusters to travel to the damage site, was an absolute necessity for insurance companies. Having this type of technology incorporated into operations, specifically solutions based on Visual Intelligence, facilitates the collection of evidence remotely via guided processes for policyholders and makes it easier for companies to make claims decisions from anywhere.
“What we’ve seen at Bdeo, which provides Visual Intelligence technology, is a significantly faster and easier process for insurance companies to collect all of the information and inputs necessary to make a claims decision. For example, based on the information collected, it is possible to prioritise which damages need to be repaired before others, as well as which professional should go to resolve the claim, preventing people who are unable to fix it from travelling to the claim site unnecessarily.
“We have seen how the pandemic has accelerated these insurtech industry changes. This is in addition to the new needs of the policyholders, who are seeking an easier, more straightforward claims process.”
Automating the process
Ernst Renner, partner and head of US insurance at Capco believes that automation is the current trend in the industry.
“For property, there’s a big push for efficiency to involve less humans in the process,” he said, “if the carrier doesn’t have to send a claim adjuster to look at the damage, the insurer can take the pictures and submit them via a digital application to automate the process.
“Intelligent technology devices have quickly impacted homeowners. Homeowners can monitor different things such as changes in water pressure, leaking pipes which can be linked to the main water line to be shut off to prevent serious structural damage, all are highly beneficial for homeowners that own a vacation home and aren’t living in the house all year round to monitor it. These technological advances cut down on the potential losses which also impacts insurance companies.
“Security camera’s ability to monitor what is going on in homes allows folks who want to file a liability claim records of what has occurred, which provides insurers tangible evidence to prevent fraudulent claims. Telematics and metadata are allowing insurance companies to have better insight into both risk prevention as well as managing the claim and potential risk payout.
“With homes that are at risk for natural disasters know all too well when destruction occurs, it can take a couple of weeks to put a catastrophe team together – takes time to even get into the area to assess damages. With drones, insurance companies can go in and assess homeowners’ claims in real-time, which allows for faster processing of payments to individuals to help start rebuilding on the property or relocate somewhere else.”
