Insurtech

Insurtech

Let’s face it, the insurance industry has been in need of a makeover for quite some time. The industry as a whole has seen very little in the way of technological change over the years. That is, until now. Chuck those claims forms and hang up on those call centres – because insurtech is here to stay.

And it’s about time, too. The digital age is well and truly underway, with radical innovation spreading like wildfire to just about every corner of the economy. From agribots and robo-seeding in the agricultural industry, to 3D printing and ingestible chips in the medical profession, the rate of digital change is unprecedented. The good news is that insurance companies are playing catch-up.

In a nutshell, the term ‘insurtech’, a merger of the words ‘insurance’ and ‘technology’, refers to the manner in which the traditional insurance model is being turned on its head by digital forces. It’s about disrupting and revolutionising the insurance industry, creating a bouquet of products fit for the twenty-first century. It’s about embracing what technology has to offer, investing heavily in the Internet of Things, from GPS devices to drones to smoke and leak detectors. Most importantly, it’s about using the power of AI.

Of course we’ve all heard of AI, or artificial intelligence, which encompasses the likes of machine learning, deep learning, big data and prescriptive analytics. But, how is this impacting the insurance landscape? In particular, how is this shaping contents insurance offerings?

Take a quick look at insurtech products across the globe and the trends in the industry are obvious. Tap into an insurance app and interact with a bot, a replacement broker who automatically handles the sign-up process, giving instant quotes and immediate access to cover without all those lengthy forms. Take a selfie with your favourite item and control when you want to switch on cover. Snap a pic of your broken gear and enjoy a much smoother and quicker claiming process. It’s a smart future and it’s ours for the taking.

Integral to the dramatic shift in the very nature of insurance itself is the concept of digital on-demand cover. This radical change in thinking about coverage patterns has been enormously influenced by the economic emergence of the millennials.

An on-the-go, instant and tech-savvy generation, millennials, those roughly aged between eighteen and thirty five, are rupturing traditional notions of insurance, starting with the home. They rent for longer than any other generation, in the wake of skyrocketing housing prices. They move in and out of the family home and ‘digs’, depending on their financial situations at the time. They pack up their bags and travel the world, stuffing their belongings into storage for a year or two. They’re mobile, flexible and unconventional – traits which the contents insurance industry is fast adopting. The good news for insurers: generation X and the baby boomers are more than happy to play ball and roll with these changes, if it means an easier, more convenient insurance experience. 

Why buy fixed policies, which don’t account for individual usage patterns and financial preferences? Why take out all risks cover on items which sit at home collecting dust most of the year round? Why fall into the trap of signing up for blanket policies which cost an arm and a leg, just so that your favourite things are covered? These are the sort of questions which insurtech firms the world over are tackling head on.

It is this global movement which prompted JaSure to open its digital doors, so to speak. An on-demand mobile insurance product, allowing you instant cover for your favourite things, including bicycles, golf clubs, cameras and binoculars as and when you need it. JaSure is all set to deliver South Africans insurance without the schlep! Now that’s an offer to which we can all surely cheer, “Ja,sure!”

Please note that the views in this article are not intended to provide or constitute advice

Written by Julie Smith

A member of the JaSure founding team, Julie believes that brand stewardship is always about entering into honest conversations with people – not consumers, not even
customers! Her dream is to see JaSure become a household name and a tool for bettering people’s lives. In her spare time, she can be found curled up with a cup of Earl Grey tea and a good book.