REGIONAL REVIEW
Customer experience rules
One effective strategy is to collaborate with bigger , established brands to increase visibility and borrow credibility .
Understand that in today ’ s age , integrating technology-forward solutions and prioritising the customer journey is crucial . So few do it well . Focus your efforts on integrating the customer experience throughout , and helping incumbents do the same , because true customer-centricity is the biggest gap in the market ,. collaboration the most favourable option , but it is also the most productive . Up to 40 % of short-term and life insurers ’ expenses are spent on core processes and can be significantly reduced by digitisation .
It makes much more sense for a startup to target this opportunity at existing insurers than to compete outright with companies that have much bigger war chests and marketing budgets .
Charlotte Koep , COO , Root
Niche versus broad
In smaller markets like South Africa , having a broad , end-to-end approach is necessary because a niche might be more limiting than it would be in a larger market . As a result , South African InsurTechs have the advantage of being able to address the full value chain in insurance , something that is not a reality in larger markets such as the UK and USA .
In those markets , InsurTechs tend to be very niche in their approach . Root ’ s experience in building a platform across the value chain has been part of what made it possible for the company to expand into other geographies .
For example , do not shy away from building a frontend to complement your backend systems , if necessary . Be open to giving clients the tools they need to be better in a sector where the technical deficit is enormous . This runs counter to advice startups are generally given , which is to find a niche and focus there . The market forced us to go wide and we are now benefiting from this .
More than just technology
Technology alone does not cut it . Human experts not only see that the technology is implemented correctly but also guide organisations through the change , ensuring that employees understand , accept and are trained to make the most of the new system . Be prepared to offer that combined value and be a change agent .
Again , remember that the technical deficit in insurance is enormous . We have found that the ability to help our clients to implement and run our platform has been critical to their success . Insurance is too complicated an industry to think that merely selling licences will lead to success in software and product development
Disrupting the industry does not mean disrupting incumbents . Collaboration with traditional insurance companies enables InsurTech businesses to grow and helps established players improve their offerings , all to the benefit of the endconsumer who for too long has had to put up with solutions that are well below par concludes Koep .
Root is an end-to-end insurance platform that helps companies build , sell and manage digital insurance products in Africa , UK and Europe . Root packages the hard things in insurance behind easy-to-use APIs , allowing any company to build and deploy new insurance products themselves .
Insurance can be added to any customer journey with Root ’ s API , helping companies to meet their customers online as well as build new revenue streams . Root is establishing offices in London and has strong relationships with retailers , telcos and insurers in Southern Africa , serviced from Cape Town . �
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