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January 2011. Mapfre launched Verti to break into the business of direct sale of insurance in Spain. A decade later, the company has nearly 300,000 clients and managed to fire 2020, the year of the pandemic, with a premium volume close to 84.5 million euros, 6% more compared to the previous year.
Coinciding with this tenth anniversary, Marcos García March, CEO of the insurance company in Spain, reveals for Invertia the challenges faced by a sector in which social changes such as teleworking or new forms of mobility will accelerate the transformation towards more digital and, above all, more personalized models. Your next release? A personalized insurance for electric vehicles.
10 years have passed since the launch of Verti in Spain as a new direct insurance sales company. How do you value this decade?
Verti began its journey in 2011 as a pioneer entity in Spain in the sale of online insurance. And, after a decade in the market, we operate in auto, home and pet insurance. These 10 years have allowed us to learn and consolidate ourselves in the market.
When Verti started, everything had to be done. We started a model practically from scratch and we have been shaping it as the client became familiar with digital insurance, responding to what he was marking us at all times. We have been doing the journey together and it has been a very enriching process.
In addition, in this time Verti has fulfilled another very important objective, which has been to share with Mapfre all the learning of the digital world. In this sense, we have acted as a test bed, contributing to the transformation of the entire Group.
Our clients especially value the digital experience and prefer to self-service their relationship with their insurer
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How has Verti’s customer profile changed in recent years?
At Verti we address our message to a different customer segment than the traditional one, which especially values having an agile and secure digital experience, and prefers to self-service the relationship with their insurer. Although the company also distributes its products by telephone, the main sales channel is the Internet, so it takes special care of the digital experience of its customers.
In this line, the increase in a young profile, interested in agile and dynamic management, a profile that likes to be informed directly, that has an active attitude towards insurance and that demands a quick response in the digital environment, where it concentrates all your day-to-day operations.
At the time of its launch, there were some doubts about whether Verti would end up, with a cheaper offer especially in motor, ‘cannibalizing’ part of Mapfre’s business. Finally, it seems that it has not been so. What advantages and benefits has Verti brought to Mapfre during these years?
The launch of Verti marked the entry of Mapfre into the direct insurance sales segment, following a model that was already operating in other European countries, where the main insurers that sell their products through face-to-face channels also have sales subsidiaries through Internet and telephone.
Verti has served to keep many clients within the perimeter of the Mapfre Group, which has been a very valuable element of loyalty. In fact, few Mapfre clients have evolved towards Verti compared to the new deposits that Verti has managed to attract from the market. The fundamental thing is that with both companies we manage to serve clients with diverse interests, managing to provide solutions to the majority of the population.
In addition, Verti has made a very important contribution to the transformation of Mapfre and has helped it to experiment with new models of customer relations, new products and services … In this sense, we believe that its role has been and continues to be very valuable for the Group.
Verti has served to keep many clients within the perimeter of the Mapfre Group, which has been a very valuable element of loyalty
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They are celebrating their 10th anniversary after a particularly tough year due to the pandemic. How did Verti’s business evolve in 2020?
It has been a complicated year, especially due to the uncertainty it has generated and the difficulty in maintaining the service and, at the same time, protecting our employees, collaborators and our customers. Without a doubt, it is the most negative situation that the company, and society in general, have had to face in a long time.
Despite this context, which we never forget, if we focus on the company’s results, the reality is that we closed the financial year with a premium volume of 84.5 million euros, which represents growth by above 6% compared to the previous year. A result that far exceeds the market average in a year hit by the pandemic. So they are good results. Verti has today about 300,000 clients in Spain. And of course, our digital model has helped a lot.
Do you think that the change towards greater online operations during the pandemic can benefit you, as you are an ‘advantageous student’ due to your digital profile?
It is difficult to see how beneficial a situation as complicated as the one we are experiencing, which affects the whole of society and, therefore, companies. But it is true that, as a result of successive mobility restrictions, conventional consumption has become more difficult, while online consumption has increased considerably in all sectors.
In 2020, eCommerce has increased its share of total consumption by 4 points, when previously it increased at the rate of 1 point per year. That gives us an idea of how some trends that were already there have accelerated and, indeed, at Verti, being a digital company since its birth, we were more than prepared for it.
Consumers are increasingly turning to tailored, personalized insurance that meets their specific needs
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How has the 2020 car sales crash affected your auto business?
Our results have been positive despite the environment, but undoubtedly if fewer vehicles are sold, auto insurance is negatively affected. It is logical. Let us trust that the vaccines will have their effect, so that over the next few months we will be able to progressively return to normality and regain economic activity.
Do you think that the change in the behavior of society with the coronavirus crisis (more teleworking, more use of the home, etc.), will condition the way of making insurance in Spain? Where is the sector tending?
The trend towards digitization is undoubtedly firm. Many people have discovered digital self-service with the pandemic, and they are sure to continue to demand it when it is over.
It also seems clear that consumers are increasingly turning to personalized, tailor-made insurance that responds to their specific needs. And we believe that more use will be made of coverage at home such as computer assistance, for example, which were not so well known before, but which have gained relevance in this context.
At this last point, does Verti consider reviewing or launching new products to serve potential customers with different needs than before?
At Verti we are continuously attentive to new needs that may arise in society and to the demands of our customers. At this time, for example, we are working on a new insurance for electric vehicles, a segment whose demand is growing decisively and which has specific needs to which solutions must be offered.
We are working on a new insurance for electric vehicles, a segment whose demand is growing decisively and solutions must be offered
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What growth goals have you set for 2021?
Our goal is to continue growing in the number of clients, consolidate our position and, as I said, continue to be very attentive to the trends and needs that are emerging to continue innovating in products and services.
The digital market demands speed and clarity to adapt to a more active audience than ever. That is why Verti, being a pioneer in the direct sale of insurance online, continues in its strategy of reaching where today’s consumer needs it. We want to focus more on improving our processes, delivering an easy digital customer experience, and growth and profits will follow.
What are the main risks that could prevent the achievement of these objectives?
All companies encounter difficulties throughout their journey, regardless of the sector. In the case of Verti, we launched the operation in the midst of a crisis whose effects lasted for many years in the market and we are now immersed in a global pandemic. By this I mean that we are used to taking tough risks and getting ahead.
But, undoubtedly, insurance has to respond to challenges such as all the changes that are taking place around mobility, personalization of demand, etc. The consumer wants flexible products and services that adapt to their life and not the other way around. There is also a great demand for agility on the part of the client, which demands speed of response and a frictionless digital experience.
The analysis and treatment of data is, perhaps, the most important challenge for the sector, because from it, simplified operations and personalized experiences can be offered, more relevant to the client and that contribute to making their life a little easier. The challenges are many, but we are confident that we can meet them and continue there for at least ten years and more.
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