Do you really know who you are dealing with when you take out property and casualty insurance (auto, home, health)? Not always ! And that’s normal, as the offer is abundant. It is the reflection of a hyper-competitive sector where the actors are numerous and have varied statuses.
Installed for decades on this so-called P&C niche (acronym for: fire, accidents and various risks), insurers “historical” (Generali, Axa, Allianz, etc.) appear to be generalists and deploy a wide range of products. For several years now, the historical backyard of these traditional insurers has been taken over by non-life mutuals and by bank-insurers, ie banking establishments with an insurance subsidiary. “For the latter, it’s a way of equipping their customers when applying for credit (auto, real estate). Thus, at the same time as the loan, they offer the subscription of an associated insurance, commented Frédéric Bannier, executive director, head of the insurance sector at Accenture. This group of generalist players (insurers, mutual insurance companies, bank insurers) accounts for almost 95% of the non-life insurance market share. »
Like many other sectors of activity, insurance has, in recent years, experienced its technological and digital revolution. “It’s been nearly five years since young shoots called “insurtech” entered the dance and played the troublemakers against these behemoths. Depending on the case, they have the status of insurance brokers or are registered as insurers,” observes Jérôme Dahan, director of development and partnerships at Webhelp. This generation of start-ups “offers a click-through underwriting process and efficient claims and compensation management. So many criticisms addressed for years to the heavyweights of the sector”, explains Eric Mignot, member of the France Fintech office. They are called in particular Alan, Luko, Leocare, there are more than two hundred and among them are unicorns, these companies operating in the sector of new technologies, not listed on the stock market and valued at more than 1 billion euros.
Ease of use
These newcomers have designed a fun course with simple and quick access to contracts, all remotely, and therefore entirely dematerialized. In addition to their website, these start-ups are generally equipped with a mobile application allowing customers to manage their contract à la carte, for example by adding or removing guarantees, at any time, or by varying the level of franchises. “This ease of use and immediacy is in line with current changes in consumption patterns where online shopping has become a habit. This method of distributing insurance from a distance continues to be democratized,” points out Nicolas Thabault-Parisot, partner in charge of the insurance sector of EY France. These digital players continuously provide practical information to their policyholders, including DIY tutorials (for example: Luko).
You have 55.81% of this article left to read. The following is for subscribers only.
–
