Dresden (ots) – Participants from the pension industry are concerned about digitization and the associated standardization of discussions regarding investment opportunities. Start-ups from the financial sector, which initially only focused on the banking and financial market, have now discovered the insurance market for themselves. They develop apps that insurance seekers can use to guide them online – all without an insurance broker. Analyzes of the policyholder’s financial situation are created with a click, contracts are concluded and an algorithm in the background calculates the customer’s creditworthiness. There is no longer any personal contact with the insurance broker and therefore no individual time for analysis. The personal situation of the individual may no longer be adequately taken into account. If the development – towards digital recommendations and away from personal advice – continues in the insurance industry, then an entire branch of the industry will face completely new challenges.
Information quality: digital vs. personal visit
Sven Thieme from Dresden, Managing Director of Competent Investment, believes that quality suffers in the digital brokerage business: “With the large number of different insurance companies and their products, it is the quality of the specialist knowledge that makes the difference. If there is no personal basis for discussion, the quality of the informational discussion drops because the individual needs and possibilities of customers are no longer adequately addressed. As soon as the financial expert “made of flesh and blood” is replaced by an app, people are less well informed. An app is modern, but cannot replace competence and experience ” says Competent Investment Managing Director Sven Thieme.
Furthermore, a lack of transparency in contracts of insurance fintechs is publicly criticized in many places, in whose paragraphs exclusivity regulations and cancellation agreements from other insurance companies can be hidden. As a result, there is a high cancellation rate for fin-tech contracts. Some insurers do not want to work with fintechs, but are still mentioned in insurance apps.
Profession in danger?
Fin-tech recently caused a sensation with high download numbers, some with more than 4 million app users. Although the actual number of customers of the app brokers is very much lower, it seems that more and more people are willing to forego individual advice on insurance issues. A threatening trend for the medium-term future of the brokerage industry. Nevertheless, Sven Thieme believes that the advantages of an individual analysis with interpersonal contact are clear: “Against the background of the complex qualification measures that the legislature rightly prescribes for financial and insurance brokers, as well as the high demands on the documentation requirement, the question arises as to how and in what form this can be achieved by Fin-Techs “. He also says: “Taking into account advice that is safe for consumers, it should be ensured that the customer is given all the information and instructions before submitting an application, can see them, is given them and, in particular, has understood them. Dispensing with individual information leads to in practice Misunderstandings and unsecured risks, “emphasizes Sven Thieme.
Press contact:
COMPETENT INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT GmbH Charlotte-Bühler-Strasse 7 01099 Dresden 03523 53160 [email protected] https://www.competent-investment-management.de
Original content by: Competent Investment Management GmbH, transmitted by news aktuell
Presseportal-Newsroom: Competent Investment Management GmbH
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