Orchestrator, key partner or participant in ecosystems: this is a key strategic decision that insurers have to make. Because more and more CEOs give the focus on living environments and holistic offers a high priority, as well as that current study “Ecosystems in the Insurance Industry” from Accenture shows.
Last year, German insurers made over 28 billion euros in the motor vehicle insurance division. This classic insurance product is established with customers and insurers alike and will continue to exist in the future. Mobility often looks different in everyday life. By bike to the subway, on to work, from there by rental car to the customer and back again. On the journey from A to B, whether on the way to business appointments or on vacation, the customer does not want to worry about whether or not he is insured while on the road.
Those who rent a car, book a trip or buy a used car are often covered by insurance. The customer is part of the world of mobility, in which the insurer no longer comes to the fore. Rather, insurance is becoming part of an ecosystem and integrated as a service. This trend is also reflected in the expected turnover: As early as 2025, turnover from ecosystems in business with private customers is expected to increase from three to ten percent today, and from three to seven percent in the corporate customer segment, according to the results of the study.
Care and everyday help, health and fitness as well as mobility: The top 3 of the future worlds
In addition to the areas of care and everyday help as well as health and fitness, mobility is one of the three strategically relevant B2C environments in the insurance industry. The approach of the ecosystems is to think holistically about the issues and expectations in a certain requirement situation and to orientate oneself noticeably to the concerns of the customer. For example, an insurer in Benelux offers older people a kind of all-round carefree package at a monthly flat rate. Repairs in the apartment, medical services, support with purchases: the new ecosystem of various service providers includes insurance benefits where necessary, but also other services that support older and less mobile people.
According to a global consumer survey by Accenture, interest is also evident in Germany, where the international comparison has so far been reluctant to respond to holistic offers: more than one in three can imagine a health package that combines health and wellness offers with health insurance, and everyone can Fourth corresponding services from his insurer for home and home.
Orchestrator, key partner or participant in the ecosystem?
Insurers still estimate the relevance of ecosystems on a scale from one (not relevant) to four (ecosystem in its core) to around two to three. At the same time, 76 percent of those surveyed stated that insurers will have to integrate into ecosystems in the future, especially in the private customer segment, in order to remain relevant at the customer interface and enable growth. In order to play a stronger role in ecosystems, insurers need to define their part in them more clearly. There are three possible positions: Orchestrators, as the main operator, are responsible for an ecosystem and the associated platform and determine the rules of the partnerships.
Key partners offer central services in the overall offer – that makes them systemically relevant. On the other hand, an insurer acts as an ecosystem participant by contributing individual products or services, for example building parts of the customer solution or bringing in other necessary skills. Every participant in the ecosystem ultimately contributes to customer benefit and profit.
Ecosystems: Technical requirements are one of the decisive factors
According to the definition, platforms implement the “exchange of information, products and services as well as monetary and non-monetary values”. This goes well beyond the pure payments in the event of a loss, which are the traditional core of an insurance benefit. For the new potential in ecosystems, many companies must first upgrade their technology, for example develop omnichannel platforms, make relevant data available or create the ability to integrate products and services or make them integrable.
The plug and play capability is often still missing. But it is necessary in order to be able to prepare services in such a way that they can easily be offered by the orchestrator. The prerequisites are good: because insurers have transaction and personal data. Analyzing this information, using it in digital platforms and developing customized and individual offers on this basis is becoming increasingly important for the business model of the future.
Insurance: from payer to partner
It is already clear on the market today that insurers are starting to rethink – even if the new “mindset” in terms of holistic offers and solutions is often still the main challenge. In the future, they will be more concerned with services that are integrated in the best possible way – and not just with narrowly defined products. A key indicator of this is that the majority of executive board insurance managers have recognized the growing importance of ecosystems for their business. While more than every second CEO currently attaches high priority to the topic, according to our study it will be more than 90 percent in three years. For insurers, ecosystems offer a great opportunity to develop from a claims adjuster and performance payer in the background to a noticeable service partner who understands and supports customers in their everyday problems. Whether in the foreground or in the background of ecosystems, insurers can become more relevant and tangible for their customers than ever before.
Author: Markus Zimmermann, Managing Director and Head of Insurance Strategy at Accenture in DACH
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