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How insurers benefit from digitalisation

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Oliver Werneyer, CEO & Founder, Imburse

 

Insurers need to embrace digital transformation to stay relevant. Customers nowadays are well-informed and expect user-friendly experiences and smart solutions that meet their needs. They are also more demanding than ever, so being able to gain their attention and trust is key to boosting customer loyalty and guaranteeing sales. Delivering an excellent omnichannel customer experience is only possible through the adoption of technology and the optimisation of processes.

Insurers have been facing the pressure to digitalise for a few years now, and it continues to increase. Technology is here to stay, and customers are likely to continue using it for their everyday tasks. The traditional insurance industry as we know it is undergoing a disruptive evolution, driven by customer demand and the rising competitiveness of the industry. To be customer-driven, however, insurers need to place focus on improving customer experience from end to end. This goes from the moment that customers are searching for policies online, to the moment customers file a claim and expect a quick and seamless reimbursement process.

This may not be news to insurers, who are well-aware of the need to embrace a digital transformation journey. However, they are faced with challenges that make it incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to compete with newer, innovative companies that place the customer at the centre of their business proposition. For instance, when it comes to payments, insurers must be able to integrate with various payment providers and technologies so they can offer their customers a wide variety of payment methods, as well as the payment methods that best suit their unique needs.

Oliver Werneyer

While some customers may prefer to receive a voucher for their favourite shop, others may be happy with a bank transfer or a push-to-card payment. Being able to meet customers’ individual needs is crucial to gaining their loyalty, and even more important now that hyper-personalization has become so popular across industries. Integrating with various providers is a complex process, mostly due to insurers relying on old and outdated IT systems that power their entire operations.

These integrations are incredibly time-consuming and expensive and require a lot of internal resources. Insurers don’t typically have these resources available, because they don’t have a dedicated payments team nor the in-house expertise to leverage payments. Equally, the length of these integrations makes it difficult to swiftly adapt to continuous market changes. Speed and flexibility are crucial elements of success and elements that most insurers don’t have.

These challenges can only be solved through partnerships. Thankfully, the Insurtech market is packed with innovative solutions that can enable insurers to solve their most pressing problems. Such companies, for instance, enable end-to-end connectivity to the whole payments world. This means that insurers are able to connect to any payment provider or technology they want, in any market, for both collections and payouts.

Instead of having to deal with lengthy and cumbersome integrations processes, insurers can focus on other key business areas while solutions like Imburse take care of all the heavy lifting. Another key element that insurers must consider outsourcing is expertise. Payments is a niche area and, while crucial to the success of the business, it isn’t considered a core department. Being able to access agnostic payment experts that help insurers navigate the payments world and make the best business decisions is a stepping stone for the successful optimisation of payment operations.

Some of the benefits of embracing digitalisation for insurers include streamlining customer experience and ensuring that customers go through a seamless and quick journey from beginning to end. According to PwC, 80 percent of companies are now investing in omnichannel experiences, powered by the need to ensure customer retention and satisfaction. Customers expect everything to be instantaneous, whether that is finding the most suitable policy for them, making a claim or receiving a payment. Digital insurance makes it possible for insurers to meet and exceed their customer’s expectations, and boost retention and satisfaction. Digitalisation also enables insurers to reduce costs. According to a McKinsey report, automation can reduce claims costs by as much as 30 percent. Insurers can improve their underwriting processes, improve speed to market and generate new revenue streams by, for instance, adopting embedded insurance and partnering with other companies. This will boost sales conversions and lower the costs of distribution.

Large incumbents can more than double profits over 5 years just through digitalisation (McKinsey). These benefits are both in the short and long-term. In the long run, having future-proof systems and processes in place will enable insurers to continue to adapt as the market changes – and it will change. Being able to have this flexibility will prove invaluable.

 

About the author

Oliver Werneyer is the founder and CEO of Imburse. Oliver spends most of his time overseeing the overall operations of the company, but with a strong focus on powering international growth. Before founding Imburse, Oliver held various roles in the insurance industry, with the likes of Liberty Life, Swiss Re and Genworth. He also founded Flynrate, an innovative flight tracking and flight delay insurance app, and became a leading member of London’s startup ecosystem, sharing his industry knowledge and passion for entrepreneurship with London-based startups.

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5 Often-Overlooked Investment Options To Consider Exploring In 2023

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When choosing what to invest in, many people will initially focus on the stock market which is considered a more mainstream investment. However, investments are more than stocks, and there is a wide range of alternative investments you can add to your portfolio to not only add growth to your long-term returns but also to spread the risk. If you’re looking to diversify your investments or if you simply want to get started with something different, this guide will cover the overlooked investment options that you should consider in 2023. From investing in EIS schemes and commercial property to commodities and collectables, there is plenty to discover.

EIS Schemes

One of the first on our list of overlooked investments is EIS investment opportunities, one of many flagship policies developed by the UK government to support early-stage companies. With an EIS investment, you would be helping to support businesses in exchange for various tax reliefs. Depending on your circumstances, this could include 30% income tax relief, tax-free gains, CGT deferral, loss relief, or inheritance tax relief. To understand more about investing in EIS schemes and their benefits, head over to Oxford Capital, to learn more.

Property Bonds

When property developers are looking to finance new commercial or residential projects, they typically do so with property bonds. These bonds are used to raise capital for the projects from investors and typically last for a fixed term, between two and five years. This form of investment is attractive due to the higher interest rates, ranging from 4% to 15%, offered in comparison to traditional government bonds, which generally perform at under 4%.

While there is a risk that the project could be abandoned due to external factors such as a rise in material costs, disruptions to supply, and a lack of finances, if the project goes to plan, you will see a return of your original investment as well as any interest accumulated. However, you can also opt to receive the interest payments monthly, quarterly, or annually throughout the course of the project, in which case, at the end of the project, your original investment will be returned with any leftover interest that has not yet been paid.

Commodities

The term commodity encompasses a variety of physical investments you can make. Unlike traditional investments such as stocks, bonds, or funds, these investments have both a use-value and an exchange value. This is because when you invest in commodities, you gain ownership over a small amount of the resource you are investing in. As there is always a need for physical goods, these commodities are an excellent way to diversify your investment portfolio and hedge against inflation, market changes, and the depreciating value of different currencies.

Some of the most common commodities you can invest in include:

  • Gold.
  • Agricultural products.
  • Crude oil.
  • Precious metals.
  • Timber.
  • Diamonds and other precious stones.
  • Spices, sugar, and salt.

Commercial Property

When looking into properties to invest in, many people choose residential options as they can renovate and sell or rent these homes. However, as the property market can be particularly volatile, a great option when you want to invest in properties is to look to commercial options instead. When it comes to commercial property, there are many ways you can invest, and these include:

  • Direct investment:This means buying a share or all of a property, which can then be rented out to businesses.
  • Direct commercial property funds:Often referred to as bricks-and-mortar funds, this is the most popular way to invest in commercial property. With this fund, you invest into a scheme that invests directly into an existing portfolio of commercial properties, which pays out the interest of your investment monthly, quarterly, or annually.
  • Indirect property funds:Similar to the direct commercial property fund, with this fund, you would invest in a collective investment scheme that invests in the shares of property companies in the stock market.

Peer-To-Peer Lending

Peer-to-peer lending is a risky venture where you would invest directly into start-up enterprises in order to help them get off the ground. It’s an excellent way to help small business owners get going with their dreams while also creating a lucrative investment. When you choose peer-to-peer lending, you loan the start-up a specific amount with the promise to pay back with interest. You can determine a timeline for this, or you can also choose to have the interest paid back monthly, quarterly, or annually.

However, as already mentioned, peer-to-peer lending is a risky venture, as the company you invest in could fail, and in that case, they would default on your loan. With this in mind, before you choose peer-to-peer lending, you should always thoroughly research the start-up’s fundamentals first, as this will give you a better insight into the viability of the business.

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Innovating inclusivity: How invoice financing is diversifying access to financial streams

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“Entrepreneurs, particularly those in the supply chain in Europe, the United Kingdom, and indeed the rest of the world, frustrated with the lack of access to traditional financial streams should consider invoice financing,” writes Morgan Terigi, Co-Founder and CEO of Incomlend

While the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted many businesses, the crisis was a moment of opportunity for others: As norms related to work, schooling, and life changed in the blink of an eye, many entrepreneurs started businesses to address related needs.

Many of these businesses grew dramatically. Now that the pandemic has settled, however, some of these businesses are hitting a plateau. Despite being profitable, they do not have enough working capital to grow the business further. They only have enough to maintain their current levels of profitability, but nothing more.

Some of these entrepreneurs will seek financing the most common way, via a bank loan. Unfortunately, this avenue will likely be inaccessible to them. Bank loans will favor organisations that have been in business for a long time, not those newly formed within the last few years. They may also require collateral that such businesses will not have right now. Some businesses created during the COVID-19 pandemic may meet the bare minimum requirements and go through the lengthy application process. They will meet with a banker, submit the necessary financial documents, including everything from financial statements to trade references, and then wait. This waiting period is actually the longest part and may encompass anywhere from a few weeks to months. After all this bureaucracy, the entrepreneur will get a denial from the bank. But, they will not be getting any financing.

Such time represents a major opportunity cost for the business leader. They could have spent the same amount of time either focused on the operations or seeking capital that is more friendly to newer businesses.

Entrepreneurs, particularly those in the supply chain in Europe, the United Kingdom, and indeed the rest of the world, frustrated with the lack of access to traditional financial streams should consider invoice financing. Many may have heard the term before but may be unsure how it actually works. Invoice financing is simple. Upon onboarding, exporters upload the export receivable that they want to be factored into the invoice financing platform, which then pays them cash in as little as 48 hours. They are spared the need of having to wait anywhere from 60 to 90 to 120 days to collect in a traditional payment cycle. They get working capital, which can be used to grow their business beyond the current plateau.

Invoice financing is also friendly for importers. Following a buyer-led approach, they can also upload their suppliers’ export receivables that they wish to be paid. Their trade partner will likewise be paid within 48 hours, and the importer gains a longer runway, anywhere up to 120 days depending on the terms, to pay back the platform. The importer can thus enjoy more working capital today, rather than worry about paying off vendors. As a result, they can also focus on revenue-generating activities that grow the business.

Investors benefit from both importer- and exporter-led invoice financing because they can back individual receivables or groups of receivables. Either situation represents a promising asset class that offers stable returns.

While invoice financing is subject to similar requirements as more traditional forms of financing – it is a financial instrument after all – it is arguably more accessible. To be eligible, importers or exporters need to have a trade history with their corresponding trade partner. They also do not need to be corporate (i.e. which is the preferred lending partner of banks), invoice financing platforms generally work with SMEs and other enterprises. It also does not require any form of collateral, so it is friendly to businesses without significant assets that they are willing to take a loan against. Finally, invoice financing occurs off-the-balance-sheet, so it does not saddle businesses in debt at a time they need positive income statements the most.

For all these reasons, I think invoice financing should not just be looked at as a financial innovation. It is very much a social one as well, opening up access to financial streams to entrepreneurs in the supply chain who may otherwise not have had access. Invoice financing, in short, has innovated how we extend inclusivity.

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