If we believe that the insurtech sector has reached its pinnacle, we’re wrong. This is according to Spiros Margaris, venture capitalists, advisor and influencer of the European fintech and insurtech scene, who was in Italy at the Blast 2017 tech event in Rome, where he was interviewed by Startupbusiness Director Emil Abirascid, offering various different insights.
According to Margaris, the insurance companies have not yet experienced the great disruption of the banking world, essentially for one reason: they are a highly regulated industry, in which change can only be much slower. The revolution has begun, and its effects can certainly be seen in B2C, a sector in which there is interaction with customers and therefore also the easiest access for insurtech startups, as shown by cases such as Lemonade or Oscar. However, paraphrasing Margaris, the best is yet to come; because at the moment no startup company has yet managed to cover the entire spectrum of insurance needs.
There is still much to be done in the interaction between insurance companies and customers, in customer experience; to date the report has been based on three points of contact, much fewer in relation to banking services: when the policy is stipulated, when it is paid for, and when are the reparations. The technology and data that insurance and re-insurance companies already have in their back end is substantial, but they don’t have the culture to use this data to create increased interaction with customers.
A further idea comes from the evaluation of the role of legislators and regulators. In the UK, says Margaris, to create the world hub of fintech there was a convergence of regulators, government and the startup ecosystem, to help this world to grow. “I don’t see the same ethic in the insurtech sector; there is no involvement of regulators, but it will happen, because it’s a good thing for consumers.”
