The insurance industry is one of the most mature and competitive markets in the world, yet it is often associated with legacy infrastructure, time-consuming paperwork and complex jargon that can easily deter customers from completing the buying process.
Over the years, a growing number of InsurTechs and platforms have entered the space with the promise of digitizing and making the process more transparent for customers, including Alphabet, which has tried to enter the UK market with its insurance and financial product comparison service tool, Google Compare.
But the company was forced to shut down the service in March 2016, unable to challenge the four major comparison shopping sites – Go Compare, Comparethemarket, Confused and Moneysupermarket – which dominate the local market.
Since then, others have tried to grab a piece of the insurance pie, including artificial intelligence (AI)-powered insurance company Lemonade, which launched in the UK in October and now offers contents insurance to residents nationwide.
Read more: Lemonade launches AI-powered content insurance in the UK
US e-commerce giant Amazon is now the latest to make its foray into the competitive UK market, launching an online insurance store this month for UK customers looking for home insurance.
Related News: Launch of Amazon Insurance Store in the UK offering property cover
In an interview with PYMNTS, Vassil Gedov, Managing Director of Financial Services at Amazon EU, explains how the e-commerce giant is looking to simplify online shopping for home and contents insurance, which remains a complex and time-consuming process for shoppers. non-expert.
He pointed to the lack of price comparison tools as one of the main pain points for consumers, not to mention the lengthy questionnaires they are subjected to which can include “no [even] needed to get you a quote.
Customers also have no information about an insurer’s performance, he added, which means they are unable to correctly determine without examination whether their customer base is happy with the price charged. and the service provided.
Finally, in the age of instant gratification, the lack of a frictionless online and checkout experience can deter customers from completing a purchase and lead to high cart abandonment at checkout.
“Once you are ready and [have] selected a purchase policy, you will often be redirected to another website, where you will have to fill in your payment information again, which lengthens the purchase time for consumers,” explained Gedov.
All of that is about to change with Amazon’s Insurance Store, which aims to make shopping easier and more convenient, giving customers the same seamless shopping experience and one-click payment option. they get on Amazon’s main platform.
The company has so far partnered with three third-party insurers – Ageas, Co-op and LV – to streamline and reduce the length of questionnaires while maintaining high levels of due diligence, he said. The platform also offers a side-by-side comparison tool with a clear description of the different levels of cover provided by each policy to save the customer time.
Innovative insurance industry
Going forward, the e-commerce company plans to increase the number of insurers on the platform and expand the selection of home insurance options available to customers, Gedov said.
He also said they are well positioned to meet the growing demand for a seamless experience in the insurance segment where customers “can go to one site, compare [reviews] and complete your purchase in one place.
This kind of seamless experience, he added, gives customers time back — a growing trend that’s appreciated by today’s convenience-focused consumers across all industries.
Overall, Gedov said innovation in the insurance industry will be tied to meeting new consumer needs and working with existing and future partners to transform the shopping experience.
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