The APIsation phenomenon is essential for the evolution of the insurance sector and has a role to play in defining tomorrow's businesses. It will enable insurers to keep pace with new practices and even anticipate their customers' uses. Communication channels, support for new services, tools for redefining the customer experience... The possibilities offered by APIsation are infinite.
See also APIsation: the rules to follow.
The APIsation of Insurance could, for example, redefine the role of the advisor in relation to the life experiences of his clients. Rather than waiting for the client to come to them, the insurer positions itself as a companion as soon as a change in the client's life takes shape. New purchases, family or professional changes, lifestyles... many experiences lend themselves to a new kind of support.
The banking sector has been looking at this issue for several years now, through Open Banking. By relying on APIs, players are increasingly aligning themselves with their customers' desires. However, the insurance industry has not yet turned the corner. And yet, in this specific field, APIs represent an exceptional springboard. Still not convinced? Discover the proof in three.
APIs to enrich the customer experience
The insurer AXA has jumped on the opportunity represented by the APIsation of its services. The group has enriched its "My AXA" application with many new features:
- Partner geolocation;
- The simulation of health reimbursements;
- Downloading a certificate;
- Remote claim reporting;
- Access to live assistance.
The catalog combines services that the insured can activate at several points in his or her life: getting information, completing a file, declaring and being assisted. All of these options, which are accessible 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, are part of the daily life of clients. They provide reassurance, take over from assistance or the broker and improve policyholder satisfaction. As a result, AXA is ranked number 2 in digital performance.
This evolution responds to a growing consumer need for improved self-care. 75% of consumers like to be able to take care of themselves most of the time. With APIs, insurers are giving them more freedom, while maintaining a continuous and reassuring connection with them.
You may also be interested in our article APIs: the key to a perfect user experience.
APIs to develop new revenue opportunities
APIsation is not just a brick that the insurer adds to its tools. It can perfectly well build or co-build an API from its own offerings. When the API works with an IPaaS platform, as is the case for La Parisienne Assurances, it leverages the insurer's current and future solutions.
What better way to expand your market than with new offerings? Thanks to APIsation, the effort involved is no longer so great. Brokers and insurers can easily develop scalable or novel solutions to attract the interest of new customers. Discover the 4 essential steps to choosing and implementing an API.
For example, MAIF has partnered with the start-up Valoo to offer a solution that covers personal items in a click, in a flexible way for a low rate. It is precisely this form of on-demand insurance that APIsation enables.
Reactivity or death
In addition to the intrinsic advantages, there is the reality of the market: insurtech is becoming more and more popular. Startups like Alan (66,000 customers in just 3 years) or Luko (€20M raised in 2019) are making their mark on the French landscape. If the historical insurers do not respond quickly, they will see their policyholders join the neo-insurers en masse.
The threats are not limited to startups. Insurers are now also facing companies outside the industry that are developing their own insurance, such as Airbnb or BlaBlaCar. Far from being anecdotal, these new players are making inroads into the market. As proof, Blablasure insurance was awarded the "Product and Service Innovation Trophy" at the 2019 edition of the Insurance Trophy. These offerings, now fairly anonymous, are not going to maintain their position at the back of the pack for much longer.
Responding to customer demands, new market opportunities, increased competition... All indicators point to the time for insurance companies to embrace APIsation. If change requires some adjustments and enthusiastic management, it does not require unattainable skills. Why not?
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