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The customer expectations driving insurance change
Published
11 months agoon
By
admin
Carl Strempel, CFO and co-founder, Imburse
Customer expectations are continuously evolving, with simplicity and speed a significant priority in the current market. These expectations have been driven primarily by well-executed technology advancements in eCommerce. For example, many eCommerce platforms allow for instant payment and transparent tracking and delivery. Customers also have the option of availing of a chatbot, allowing for problems and issues to be solved quicker than relying on telephone customer support.
The best examples of these customer engagement solutions are integrated across multiple channels so that customers can switch from the chat-bot to a phone call to an email seamlessly, with the context and conversation retained. Companies and providers understand that there is nothing more frustrating for customers than having to explain the issue multiple times to multiple service representatives.
Customer expectations are continuously changing as mobile technology continues to make advancements. The growing prevalence of super apps that can do it all, from booking food deliveries to ordering taxis, is massively impacting customer expectations. These enhanced offerings mean that individuals are now also expecting this level of detail and personalisation from banks and insurers. Whether buying personal insurance for yourself or your family, or a CFO or risk manager purchasing commercial insurance for a business, customer expectations are rising. There is no longer an excuse for insurers to deliver a poor customer experience.
Insurers, especially in the retail and SME business, have scrambled to overhaul their customer experiences to meet modern consumers’ demands. For example, if an insurance company cannot turn around a quote for a comparison website within a few seconds, they won’t win any business. In fact, if they are not in the top three quotes with a competitive price, they are most likely irrelevant.

Carl Strempel
As a result, insurers need to think about their technology stack and how they can deliver the best possible experiences for their customers, to generate sales and improve retention. In this case, real-time API integrations into comparison websites.
Other areas of innovation are the ongoing migration to the cloud, which allows for the building of scalability and resilience in insurance carriers, as well as enabling technologies such as document ingestion, workflow automation, A.I., and payments technology delivering a better customer experience with a reduced Total Cost of Ownership for the enterprise.
First and foremost, insurance companies need to understand their customers and how they expect insurance interactions to be delivered. Following this, a technology strategy must be formed to enable them to deliver in an agile way. Being agile is significant because customers’ expectations evolve over time, and technology also changes. As a result, insurers need to understand their customers and be able to deploy relevant technologies in an appropriate time frame to meet demands.
Many insurance providers partner with innovative technology companies to deliver solutions that will support the needs of the end customer. By offering relevant payment checkout experiences, similar to those by large eCommerce platforms, insurers can increase their top line and keep more customers satisfied. Insurers can further reduce payment site costs by using external partners to manage integrations with the global payment ecosystem. This makes the configuration of payments more cost-effective and quicker than what existing IT integrations allow for. This technology can deliver a 90 percent saving on payment integration and configuration.
The advantages of technology in the insurance industry are clear. Technology enables insurers to improve coverage for customers, enhance customer experience, reduce costs and improve product-market fit. There are several new insurance business models being deployed, including embedded insurance, parametric insurance, and soon “open insurance,” which are all designed to make the customer experience more seamless and provide the right cover at the right time. When deployed in the right way, technology is a critical enabler for insurers to deliver to their customers and avoid becoming irrelevant capacity providers.
There are numerous opportunities for insurers to embrace innovation in the industry. The challenges with enterprise payments, however, are primarily transforming traditional IT systems, and maintaining multiple IT integrations with different payment technologies and providers. The impact is not only on top-line income and bottom-line costs, but inadequate payment capability also inhibits insurance innovation. Payments need to meet the needs of the modern consumer and the insurance product. These are the barriers preventing insurers from pursuing their digital transformation journeys. It is for these reasons that third-party innovative solutions prove valuable, enabling insurers to completely optimise their payment systems, for a fraction of the cost, resources, and time.
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Top 10
5 Often-Overlooked Investment Options To Consider Exploring In 2023
Published
1 week agoon
March 17, 2023By
admin
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.
Finance
Innovating inclusivity: How invoice financing is diversifying access to financial streams
Published
1 week agoon
March 15, 2023By
admin
“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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