Reliability stands as a vital pillar in the insurance industry, but when we shift our focus to Insurtechs, speed becomes one of the main aspects to consider, next to the ability to innovate and support the relevant needs of partners. The technological expertise, optimized processes, agility, and fast decision-making capabilities of Insurtech companies like ELEMENT enable them to move swiftly without compromising on reliability. As a licensed partner behind the scenes, we are in the place to help our partners to succeed in their goals with their own brands.
When we talk about speed, we are referring to the time to market for insurance solutions, whether it�s a new product, tariff, or vertical or the iteration of an existing product or partnership. At ELEMENT, we prioritize delivering results in weeks rather than months or years when onboarding a partner, showcasing our ability to be fast and efficient in meeting their unique needs and timelines. In this article, we will explore how and where we deliver on our promise of speed across the insurance value chain, spanning our diverse product range and catering to the specific requirements of our partners.
Part I: Value chain and speed
In our intricate and multi-faceted business model, the insurance value chain comprises several key players. The value chain covers risk taking, underwriting, insurance product creation, billing, contract services, claims management and the contacts to the customers. Reinsurers take parts of the risk, insurance carriers can cover many or all of those value chain elements and distribution partners assure the contact to the customers. ELEMENT provides all core insurance value chain elements but is also flexible to take only parts of it.
The question arises: where does speed come into play throughout this journey? While speed is essential for many aspects of the insurance value chain, we understand that not every partner or product requires the same level of urgency. Some scenarios may demand immediate and rapid action, while others benefit from a more measured and deliberate approach. As a flexible and adaptable Insurtech company, we recognize the value of catering to the unique requirements of our partners. This means that we can adjust our speed according to their specific needs and preferences, ensuring a customized and tailored experience that aligns with their goals and objectives. Also with a transparent and realistic view on implementation efforts, we can advise partners what influence their goals have on the overall timing.
When considering the influence of speed within the insurance value chain, it�s essential to understand that different types of insurance products may lead to different implementation efforts and might demand varying levels of urgency. For instance, certain insurance solutions, like urgent updates on existing products may benefit from a quicker time to market due to frameworks in place. Hence, it will be easy to gain a competitive edge and capture market share. To name some examples from our own partner portfolio, one of our partners has as a goal to keep a certain rating, whose characteristics changed, so we adapted the product in a matter of weeks. Another example is one of our partner with a very competitive positioning in the market, challenged by a new market entry; hence, a rapid change was needed to maintain their sales targets.
On the other hand, more complex and specialized insurance offerings may require a more meticulous and time-intensive approach to ensure accuracy and mitigate risks. By understanding the unique characteristics of each product, we can strategically apply speed to areas that would most significantly impact the product's success while maintaining a careful and thorough approach where necessary.
While we acknowledge that we can only directly control the parts of the value chain we handle, such as underwriting and other operational processes, our focus on speed aims to optimize the efficiency of these aspects. However, after extensive experience of onboarding different product and partner combinations, we can help our partners to understand the quickest way to implement thus speeding up the end-to-end implementation process by a multiple factor. We can directly seamlessly execute processes and provide a more responsive experience for our partners and customers alike by prioritizing speed and efficiency in our company.
The ways we can impact the speed of individual value chain elements are different:
Clear communication and swift responses
With a portfolio of over 50 partners, our extensive experience enables us to navigate the onboarding process seamlessly. We have dedicated teams responsible for onboarding, ensuring clear communication and responses. Our streamlined approach and centralized communication ensure a fast and efficient experience for our partners.
Streamlined underwriting and pricing
Our dedicated team of underwriters and pricing managers work in unison to accelerate the underwriting process, providing timely decisions for policy issuance. We offer a wider range of products including product frameworks that can be quickly adapted to meet specific partner requirements, reducing time-to-market and enhancing partner satisfaction.
For international partners
When operating on an international scale, the complexity of the operations, involving multiple jurisdictions, languages, and regulatory landscapes, can pose challenges to achieving the same level of speed. In such cases, striking a balance between speed and detail becomes crucial to navigate the diverse requirements and ensure seamless operations across borders. Developing innovative solutions to streamline multinational processes will be essential in delivering both speed and reliability in these scenarios.
At ELEMENT, our capabilities extend beyond borders for partners that want to operate in several geographies within the EEA at the same time. Simultaneously onboarding in multiple countries is part of our expertise, as our processes and frameworks are designed independent of the country. Of course, specific country regulations, languages etc. need to be considered. At ELEMENT, we have already experience managing this complexity and have multiple international success cases. Our strength is operating out of Germany via FOS thus leading to more efficiency and avoiding the hurdles of dealing with local entities.
The power of APIs and white label modules for customers
We offer API integration as the fastest way to integrate and exchange data with our partners. It ensures smooth data exchange and faster decision making. Through REST APIs we seamlessly integrate into our partners' value chains, enabling flexible adaptability to their unique requirements. Other means of integration like Bordereau are also possible.
One of the advantages of our API integration is the ability to offer white-label modules for customer portals and purchase flows. This customization empowers partners to align these interfaces with their own brand identity, facilitating completely integrated customer communications. From the initial touchpoint to claims management, every interaction with end customers remains branded under our partners' name, fostering brand loyalty and trust.
Conclusion
Each onboarding experience is one-of-a-kind, encompassing distinct requirements, challenges, and unexpected twists. Our adaptability allows us to match the pace of our partners. We also acknowledge that factors such as decision-making processes, team size, and technical capabilities differ across partners, yet our primary focus lies in providing the speed that aligns precisely with the partner's preferences and control.
At ELEMENT, we believe that onboarding is not merely a transactional process but a genuine partnership. Our goal is to create an onboarding experience that is not just efficient, but enjoyable and productive. Whether it's a sprint or a marathon, we remain dedicated to providing the speed that our partners can confidently control and fit to the product in launch, paving the way for a successful and enduring collaboration.