The insurance life cycle: yesterday, today, and tomorrow.

The world has gone from small to big, simple to complex, and from analog to digital - creating endless opportunities for consumer-centric technology. The insurance industry is starting to keep up with these changes as well. Thanks to open insurance, insurance providers can now increase conversions, customer satisfaction, loyalty and retention in an efficient and foolproof way.

Let’s start with a bit of history. The idea of insurance is almost as old as society itself. It existed in the Babylonian Empire 4000 BCE, in the Indian empire 600 BCE, and in ancient Greece 400 BCE. Back then, it was mainly related to marine insurance. Merchants granted loans, and the interest of these loans covered the risk for shipments lost at sea.* 

As the world grew bigger, the insurance industry expanded with it. In Sweden, the origin of insurance was fire insurance implemented in the early Medieval ages; everyone in a parish had to chip in with compensation for the affected if a fire occurred. Insurance companies were often local and had close contact with each other. It was a slow world, with few items to insure and infrequent contact between customers and insurance companies. 

Old ways in a new world

Today, almost everything concerning private finances has changed - but the insurance industry hasn’t kept up. Consumers often choose their insurance company based on what friends and families already have, trusting the insurance to cover what they expect it to cover without carefully reading the terms and conditions. Perhaps the price is reasonable compared to that of competitors, but it can be hard to know what to look for without accessible and straightforward information that is easy to understand.

Customers often have to call their insurance companies when they want to change or ask anything since digital, easy-to-use solutions rarely are available. The same concerns apply to the products. Some traditional insurers might still assume everyone has a steady income, living situation, and family life. The customer pays the insurance bills without really reflecting on them and therefore only interacts with their insurance company once a year when renewing the insurance. And when an accident actually does happen, the case could be that the consumer is not even covered by the insurance, due to terms and conditions that were too complex and difficult to understand.

Open insurance: a game changer in the insurance industry

What do the insurance solutions of the future look like? If you ask us, it is synonymous with open insurance.

Open insurance enables the use of data to bring out the best of the insurance industry for all parties involved. A true win-win solution for companies as well as consumers. The future insurance life cycle will be tailored and consumer-centric:

• When signing the lease for an apartment, home insurance can be offered directly in an app. With contract data implemented in the insurance, the consumer can express what’s important to cover and compare personal offers with other insurance companies - without leaving the app.
• Alternatively, when buying a house, the bank offers home insurance in their app based on data from the mortgage application process. In the same bank app, it’s possible to manage  all insurance policies in one place. Notifications and suggestions of insurance updates can then be sent based on when transaction data show that something has been bought, indicating a change of life situation, such as a baby stroller or a new car. 
• When renewing the insurance, a clear overview of what is being covered is presented in your bank app clearly linked to life situations with suggestions of different insurances based on your profile.  It’s easy to compare offers and choose the right one, without leaving the app. 
  
  

This way, if an accident happens, you have a much better pre-understanding of what your insurance covers and what you could get in compensation. It also increases the chances of higher customer satisfaction and retention. Insurance is a vital part of personal finance - but still so easy to miss. However, this is starting to change. With open insurance, customers can find the right insurance, when and where it's relevant to them.