The founder of Kojo, Lara Varjabedian has released a report highlighting the changing relationship between insurers and insurtechs, noting the key friction points and the growing demand for partnerships rather than competition.
The gap of understanding between insurers and insurtechs is shrinking, says Varjabedian, as insurers are gaining insurtech experience, and insurtechs are growing their insurance expertise, either over time or in-house.
As insurtechs acquire more expertise and insurers gain greater experience in working with startups, they will look to support each other in new ways, the report affirms.
The inability to move fast is probably the most frustrating aspect for the insurtech startups, says Varjabedian, though the situation is becoming more fluid.
“Most insurers that have already partnered with startups, have gone through the test-and-learn phases and in the process learned from the mistakes made by both sides,” Varjabedian states.
“These shared experiences matter for both sides. The potential slowdown factor is that highly technical solutions require both proof of concept and investment, so we’re never going to see fast implementation.”
She adds, “They have to convince each insurer of the viability of their solution – and each insurer will have their own viewpoint on the insurtech solution and their own needs and future strategy.”
“But convincing an insurer means convincing all the relevant departments of an insurance company, and there is sometimes no “one size fits all” approach. It is very important to get things moving in parallel – as much as possible – in order to achieve faster results.”
Compared to several years ago, insurers today work with more insurtechs and are more structured in their approach, explains the report. This more integrated approach is driving a fuller understanding of what each market requires in its innovation process.
