In the interest of full disclosure this column was not the
planned piece for this week, but as the original plan became an exercise in
distilling a wonderful volume of great information down into 1200 or so words,
I was thankful for a discussion with an insurance startup I had where this
observation was reiterated by a founder:

“We did not want to be
a hammer looking for a nail.”

That phrase reminded me why the research for a following week was conducted- there are InsurTech companies that have made great efforts in seeing customer or service needs- that exist- and devising innovative ways to deal with the respective issues’ pain points and taking the innovations to market.  So why not wait to publish that theme?  Well, because the industry needs constant reminders that innovation needs a purpose, and that there are startups who are purposing real service needs.  So I took my own advice with the topic- be the finder of the nail, first.

There are many InsurTech startups across the global market,
and one can’t place the spotlight on all. 
The approach for this column is discussion of four companies that in
their own unique way have found an unmet purpose (nail) by research or
accident, have dug into the issue, and produced a solution (hammer) that is
tech-based and somewhat unique.

Empowering Patients for Provider Choice

The unexpected needs of parents Cole Sirucek and Grace Park prompted
the sequence of events that resulted in the patient empowerment firm, docdoc . 
Now founders as well as parents, Cole and Grace identified a need for
medical patients to have better control over who provides them services than which
was traditional for the profession.  A
medical concern within their family highlighted that the medical profession
(including hospitals) held full sway over who provided service, even if the
provider was not the most apt choice. 
Working to ensure others wouldn’t have options when medical needs arose,
the company worked with a team of medical and tech professionals to develop the
largest, most comprehensive network of medical professionals in Asia, a network
that identifies professionals by characterizing what each does extremely
well.  Need knee surgery?  The network identifies a patient’s best
option, not only for an orthopedist, but a knee expert.  And why would this be important within the
medical services value chain?  Having the
best expert results in more positive outcomes, which results in less unexpected
cost and patient issues post op.  In the
bigger picture, docdoc has created a Knowledge Model that can be leveraged by
other health networks (not ‘here are the providers in your network,” but ‘here
are the best fit providers’).  Options
for the patient, networks for the providers, and less after-effects for the
insurers.  (contact:  Madhurima Dutta
)

Highest and Best Use of an Entrepreneur’s Time is not Getting Insurance Quotes

There are more than 7.5 million self-employeds in the UK.  That’s a lot of hard-working individuals (and
the number is growing), says Sherpa ‘s
CEO, Chris Kaye
.  And if averages are extended, each of
these folks shop for up to seven insurance policies annually, time spent
chasing what carriers provide, and not necessarily what the self-employeds need.   Chris Kaye (along with Sherpa founders Lachlan Gillies and
Greg McCafferty)
identified the need for these customers to have an insurance service that
covers them for all risks,
can be tailored to their lifestyle and keeps up-to-date as their life changes.  Not rocket science (seems intuitively like
what a good agent could do), unless one can promptly assess each customer and then
provide an AI-driven personal insurance solution. Here’s the firm’s tech
innovation- Sherpa’s “Brain,” a proprietary AI risk assessment
engine, takes data given by members and makes personalized recommendation
for what cover they need.  But- Sherpa is not an insurance plan, it’s a subscription
based membership organization, has a fully-digital process, wherein a Member
can be underwritten and get ‘on risk’ in about seven minutes, and Sherpa
charges a transparent, flat fee that gives members access to a personal
insurance solution that matches their advice. 
Of course the members benefit from cover provided by an affiliated
global insurance company, and have the comfort that as life changes occur their
personal choice for insurance cover remain. 
The firm’s intention is to not only broaden UK available lines from Life
and Critical Illness covers, but to other markets and other personal lines
covers.

Digitizing Life Insurance Claim Processes, No, Making Life Policies about the Beneficiaries

Benekiva founder Brent Williams had a
successful financial advisory business in which he continuously found issue- life
insurance settlements were an administrative nightmare for beneficiaries, typically
driving settlement periods to three months from the respective carriers’ notice
of policyholder death.  Brent served as
apologist for the carriers, and also found in addition to delays in benefits,
recipients of policy proceeds were reluctant to take that next step- financial
care of proceeds- because the claim processes were so convoluted.  In collaboration with the current Benekiva
team members and co-founders, Bobbie Shrivastav and Soven Shrivastav, (and after more
than two years’ research) Brent, et al, introduced a digital approach to claim
process that focused on beneficiaries’ needs backwards through the admin of the
policy.  In this case, an industry expert
collaborated with tech and innovation experts, jointly identified a customer
issue, developed universally applicable methods that carriers could implement,
and the end result is prompt payment of policy proceeds.  Sure, unclaimed property laws helped
facilitate the end result, but the digital answer to customer needs is the key.  Benekiva now works with carriers to streamline
what in great part are legacy process wrought with workarounds, and to the
benefit of the industry cut through the Gordian Knot of the paper chase.  Oh, and the firm is helping carriers with
Blockchain options for claim and beneficiary management.

Helping Leverage Customers’ Ownership of Data  

Customers don’t know what they don’t know, and for data collection and use (particularly telematics), that knowledge is lower in great part due to who has taken control of telematics- companies (including insurance carriers.)  If data are the next oil boom, then those who own the wells are not the current beneficiaries of the wells’ output.  That’s the identified service opportunity for RevdApp , best described by its founder, Filipe Pinto, thusly:

“to offer consumers a way to own and manage their
mobility records and to leverage them in a trustworthy marketplace where
service providers bid to offer them services without compromising their
privacy. We eliminate data silos and unleash value.”

What, you say, what has that got to do with InsurTech and insurance service?  Well, picture customer possession of an open ledger of performance within a digital ecosystem, data that can be provided by the customer to support value-based access to services?  Customer owns driving data, can leverage that data for insurance purchases, or perhaps more favorable lease pricing based on positive performance than someone who has a history of more risky behavior.  Telematics have to date been the bailiwick of companies who collect those data, and have been leveraged to the benefit of the companies in terms of user-based insurance (UBI), e.g., Metromile, Progressive (Snapshot), and Allstate (DriveWise), along with most other larger carriers.  RevdApp is developing a digital ecosystem where beyond UBI customers can benefit from the service value of trust- companies may extend favorable terms to those with relative good performance data ledgers, and surcharge those without.  Customers control their data, how it’s applied to services, and how it’s applied to pricing.  At this time the firm’s IoT data ledger service access is applied for exotic auto use, but customer focus can bridge to almost any partnered service.

Are there many solution ‘hammers’ in the InsurTech orb looking for nails?  Sure are.  But there are many customer service ‘nails’ just waiting for observant entrepreneurs that can be open to understanding what solution is being called for.  The four examples noted above have unique starting points, and certainly unique solutions, but each developed from the kernel of an idea-  the need to #innovatefromthecustomerbackwards, and in spotlighting those I could keep my journalistic hammer tucked in my work bag- for another week.

Image source

Patrick Kelahan is a CX, engineering & insurance professional, working with Insurers, Attorneys & Owners. He also serves the insurance and Fintech world as the ‘Insurance Elephant’.

I have no positions or commercial relationships with the companies or people mentioned. I am not receiving compensation for this post.

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