Insurtech Chat is a Twitter chat hosted by Minh Q. Tran, Managing Partner of Odysseus Partners. For more information, please contact minh@odysseuspartners.com.
Q1: What are the current trends in insurance regarding customer experience?
A1: In the podcast with Generali, we talked about the increased use of technology by insurers, with the underlying goal of improving customer experience and being a partner to the customer, helping with their insurance needs. An example could be the use of AI for risk assessment, predictive underwriting techniques and telematics to offer usage-based insurance model. Another focus is on ecosystems where insurers participate as a protection provider.
Q2: Why would large, incumbent insurers cooperate with start-ups?
A2: Start-ups are much bolder and much faster. However, an incumbent can benefit from working with them, and start-ups can benefit from working with an incumbent. Open innovation is the right way to do innovation nowadays.
Q3: How can the cooperation between incumbent insurers and start-ups be successful? What are the prerequisites?
A3: For incumbents, it’s crucial that when start-ups approach them, they know what they’re doing. In other words, they have the first product in the market and already have the first clients. Incumbents are happy to see how it might fit into its business and how it might solve a problem that their clients have. The team fit is essential: start-ups have to be able to work with corporates, which is not easy! For more info check https://www.viima.com/blog/innovation-stats.
Q4: Why just investing money by the VC is not enough?
A4: We talked about with you and a few other VC investors on the podcast. Also, this is a common thesis among sophisticated early-stage investors. As the allocations of pension funds and other institutional investors to VC and PE have relaxed over the years, VC’s dry powder has exploded. Let’s see what happens now with the coronavirus impact. In general, the money has become a commodity, and high-quality start-ups choose whose money to accept also based on the ability of the VC to add value as an advisor, coach, a backup exec and someone who can open the doors.
Q5: What does it mean, asset builder?
A5: As you explained in our podcast, Odysseus looks for start-ups with reasonable strong growth and intends to help these businesses to build their markets. It’s like investing in Uber, on the one hand, and on the other hand, buying a taxi company to bring customers to Uber.
Q6: Based on your podcast with Generali, how close or how far do start-up ideas have to be for Generali to make sense to partner with them?
A6: Billte digitizes & automates the entire invoicing process built with Generali together to simplify the invoice process for Generali customers. Imburse Transaction Platform provides hassle-free integration into global payments ecosystem.
Q7: Examples of start-ups that cooperate with Generali?
A7: 24credit is a P2P loan platform that connects borrowers with investors with insurance in case the borrower dies, and the debt doesn’t pass onto heir. Klara is a digital assistant for SMEs, managing payments and bookkeeping.
Q8: Are insurers active in the outreach within the start-up ecosystem?
A8: In the podcast, we talk about how Generali participates in ActionJam in Bern, SwissFintechLadies, regular InsurTech meetup at F10 accelerator and more. Also, AXA is very active in the Swiss start-up ecosystem, no doubt!
Q9: We like your podcast with Enterprise Bot. But customer focus and chatbots? Really?
A9: Insurers want to be partners with the customers. At the same time, everyone is trying to automate low value add, repetitive tasks – like answering similar customer queries all over again. This is where chatbots come in. Often, people find interacting with them very frustrating. Enterprise Bot is one start-up that participated in Generali Garage and has been profitable since Day 1? How? Natural language processing (NLP).
Q10: How does NLP make a chatbot better?
In my podcast interview with Enterprise Bot, who took part in then Generali Innovation Garage, the co-founders explained that they had to use NLP as in CH, their bot has to work in multiple languages and has to learn on its own!
Q11: How does it improve customer experience when dealing with an insurer?
I would say when customers reach out to their insurer, it’s not a happy occasion. However, the insurers are under pressure to cut costs so they have been outsourcing call centers, sometimes struggling with training their staff. Enter bots – but, if not done smartly, it can backfire! If you have an opportunity to make bots smarter, go for it! This will pay off when you are balancing the cost of customer care and customer satisfaction.