Gerrit Boehm. Source: Volkswohl Bund
How much digitization can the broker stand take? And how do insurers create the appropriate balance? Has exclusive answers to it Gerrit Boehm, Board of the Volkswohl Bund, in an interview with VW today.
VWtoday: Let’s start simply: How do you differentiate “ecosystem” from “platform” and how does your house want to position itself in this new world?
Gerrit Boehm: The term ecosystem actually comes from biology and describes a community of organisms of several species. Transferred to the business world, an ecosystem for me is essentially a topic-specific collaboration between various market players. And today, of course, this collaboration is realized with the help of technology. And we call this organization of collaboration with the help of technology a platform.
In an ecosystem there are of course different roles of market players. As the VOLKSWOHL BUND we see ourselves very clearly in the role of the product provider. Our strengths lie in product development, in the technical connection to various platforms and in service. For our partners, but of course also for our customers.
It is difficult in this country to imagine a pure insurance platform with constant customer access a la ping an, but does a house have to combine its entire range of products on one platform?
I don’t want to speak for others or the whole market. For us and our role, one thing is clear: We offer our products and services without prejudice to any partner who works seriously. We see absolutely no compulsion to commit ourselves in a certain direction and thus to restrict ourselves.
VWtoday: Generally asked: Are insurers going digital or are they just changing the process from paper to binary?
Gerrit Boehm: I try to avoid the term “digitization” completely because it is interpreted so differently. Ultimately, it is like you say: First of all, digitization only means that something analog is mapped with ones and zeros. This does not automatically mean an improvement. But digitization is the basis for this. It can bring simplicity and speed. It is easier and faster to download an MP3 file than to go to the store and buy a record. Because so many end devices are more or less directly connected to one another via the Internet, digital is simply incredibly easy, quick and inexpensive to transport.
Let’s stay with the music: when I buy an MP3 file, I always buy this piece of music once and can keep it. The business model has not changed much as a result. When we think about how music is consumed today, we see that streaming music has changed the business model significantly. Instead of paying a one-time fee for a song, I rent access to an incredible amount of content. If I stop paying the rent, the access will be gone. In summary, I think I can say: Digitization lays the foundation and creates the opportunity to change business models. But you can “only” make things easier and faster. But that’s also something …
VWheute: You work a lot with brokers, is it difficult to strike the balance between what is necessary and too much digitality? Do you sometimes have to backtrack as a company or is more digitality required?
Gerrit Boehm: No, it’s not difficult. Our brokers want uncomplicated and fast processes. And we can gradually improve many things with the help of technology. I haven’t met a realtor who has complained about this. Perhaps this is also due to the fact that we also offer digital services and do not reduce our human service in return. For example, we are very consciously still present in the area with our broker advisors and service units in order to offer analog, human service when it is needed.
VWtoday: Where do you see the broker in a platform world, is his knowledge still in demand in an online bot world?
Gerrit Boehm: I still consider the broker to be extremely valuable because of his know-how, but above all because of his personal support for clients. What distinguishes a good broker cannot be done overnight by machines. Getting insurance is one thing. But we also have to look beyond that. When it comes to a claim, a broker can offer great added value.
And he accompanies the customer through the various phases of life with their changing insurance needs. We shouldn’t overlook: The value proposition of a good broker does not lie in choosing the cheapest liability insurance. The added value goes massively beyond that. And technology can help the broker to generate this value proposition faster and easier or even to increase it.
VWheute: With “Zulagenheld” you have created a web application for the Riester pension. Is digitization a way to reduce bureaucracy in the insurance world? What is sense, what is nonsense?
Gerrit Boehm: This is exactly the opportunity: With the help of technology, we can make many mandatory topics easier and faster for everyone involved. And we can use technology to do things that create additional value. The “allowance hero” is a mixture of both. It supports our policyholders in a simple and convenient way to always secure the optimal allowances for their Riester pension contract with us. Another example is our new fund website. There, customers can find all fund data at a glance and can compare different funds with one another. There is also a new portfolio tool with which customers and brokers can bundle and analyze their favorite funds in an individual portfolio.
“Think of the customer”, “Amazonize” and “Improve the user experience” – these are the phrases that Mr. Böhm feels: driven, annoyed or overwhelmed? Most likely it is weary. It has always been the important task of all companies to create a benefit for their customers. And if possible one that customers are willing to pay for (in whatever way). Because if they don’t, the benefits are probably not great enough.
And technology can help us with this benefit. I consciously speak of “technology”. Because today it is the “cloud” or “artificial intelligence”, tomorrow “edge computing”, the day after tomorrow something else. But it remains technology. And you can – but it doesn’t work by itself – use them sensibly to create more favorable or greater benefits for customers. No more and no less.
The questions asked VW today-Editor Maximilian Volz.
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