According to McKinsey & Company board members and insurance executives see insurance distribution as the biggest challenge facing their industry. Customer demands are changing in this increasingly hybrid world: they want more simplicity, transparency and an overall smooth customer journey. Opportunities arise with a generational change in the agent- and broker networks and new, emerging distribution channels. There are so many digital opportunities, but the field lacks competency as insurers are not leveraging all data and digital assets. What does the insurance distribution landscape of the future look like?

To understand what the future of the insurance distribution landscape will look like – and where insurers should focus, InsurTech Hub Munich carried out a partner discovery within its corporate partner network of leading insurers, tech firms and cross-industry players. These conversations resulted in three focus areas:

1. Gen Z: How can insurers capture awareness of this new generation of customers and keep them engaged?

2. Embedded Insurance: Which digital customer journeys are suitable for insurers to be embedded into?

3. Hybrid Distribution: How can agents and brokers be enabled to reach and advise the customer in a hybrid world?

Engaging a new generation of customers: Gen Z

Gen Z is a highly connected and digital generation. How can insurers address them in the most efficient way? According to BearingPoint, 41% of Gen Z don’t care about insurance. And the other way around, insurers don’t know much about Gen Z. In order to insure this new generation of customers, it is important to explore what drives this group, what they are interested in, and what they consider essential.

Embedded Insurance: identifying the right opportunities

Embedded insurance may promise low-threshold access to new generations. According to surveys by the international think tank “Open and Embedded Insurance Observatory,” a large majority of insurers worldwide are focusing on embedded insurance. More than 50% of insurers already regard “embedded” as a strategic priority. For insurers, it is important to find out which digital customer journeys are suitable for them to be embedded into.

Hybrid customer journeys

According to McKinsey and Company, almost 50% of all insurance customer behaviour is already hybrid, people get their information online before buying etc. How can insurers help agents and brokers successfully pursue the combination of traditional and digital sales? Fundamentally, success in hybrid sales will depend on how well insurers succeed in digitally enabling their fixed agents and brokers.

Kick Off NXT:Distribution Programme

On the 25^th of April, InsurTech Hub Munich’s Programme Director Esther Eva Prax and Innovation Programme & Start-up Relations Manager Estefania Rodriguez Migliarini presented the 20 startups selected for ITHM’s NXT:Distribution Programme, all divided into one of the three focus areas. To answer the question ‘What is the insurance distribution landscape of the future?’ The programme aims to:

1. Activate the ITHM community of corporates, start-ups, experts, universities and more to delve deeper into these 3 focus areas.

2. Stimulate collaboration between insurers, insurtechs, and startups to bring in concrete solutions.

3. Generate knowledge, to ensure that the conversation can be continued.

Results and insights of the NXT:Distribution Innovation Programme will be presented at the InsurTech Innovation Night on June 21st, 2023. For more information about the programme visit InsurTech Hub Munich’s website or follow the LinkedIn page for more updates.

“Selected from among more than 200 applications spanning 42 countries, these startups demonstrated outstanding potential to engage in meaningful conversations with our corporate network,”

Christian Gnam, ITHM’s Managing Director