Designing Insurtech Tools for End Users

Does Insurance need to stop calling itself “Insurance” to grow in Africa? Yes - in customer facing language and product packaging. No - in legal and #regulatory classification This post is inspired by a discussion on the topic we had yesterday at the AXIAN Digibank & Fintech Annual Forum in Senegal. This is Post 1️⃣ of 2️⃣ The binding constraint in most Sub-Saharan markets is not “lack of risk”, its lack of trust, low comprehension, and high friction at the moment of value (claims). The word “INSURANCE” often encodes - paperwork, exclusions, delayed payouts, and disputes If you want penetration, you sell “protection” embedded into products people already use weekly: payments, savings, credit, merchant tools and not insurance The practical principle that I am proposing is simple: ☑️ Call it “insurance” to the regulator. ☑️ Sell it as “protection” to the customer. ☑️ Design it so the customer exp value without a PhD in policy wordings ⸻ Should #mobilemoney players pursue an #insurtech pillar? Yes - if they treat it as a distribution + claims experience business, not an #underwriting business Mobile money players should not wake up and decide to “become insurers”. They should build a #Protection pillar that does four things: 1️⃣ Bundles simple covers into high-frequency journeys (loan, savings, device, merchant acceptance, remittances) 2️⃣ Collects premiums frictionlessly (wallet auto-debit; pay-as-you-go; tiny ticket sizes) 3️⃣ Wins on claims (fast, predictable, transparent) 4️⃣ Push the innovation in the product structure (think parameteric, embedded, etc) ❌ Avoid: launching a “marketplace” of 12 insurance products. That’s a catalogue, not a penetration strategy ⸻ Where to play and who to target 🎯 Pick markets and segments where “embedded” is structurally advantaged. What does that mean? Prioritise countries/ business lines where you have: ➖ High active #wallet usage, not just registrations ➖ Existing #digitalcredit or savings motion (strongest embed points) ➖ Dense agent/merchant network (cash-in/out + servicing + trust) ➖ Regulatory clarity for #microinsurance distribution ➖ At least one capable insurer/ #reinsurer partner willing to design for digital claims SLAs Segment priority (who to target) Start where pain is frequent and willingness-to-pay is real: ➖ Digital credit users: Embed loan protection / credit life / disability cover as the default “repayment resilience” feature ➖ Mass-market families with volatile income: Embed hospital cover inside “savings goals” or “family wallet plans” ➖ Micro and small merchants (your merchant ecosystem is your moat). Embed business interruption micro-cover, fire/theft micro-cover, liability lite, and device/POS protection ➖ Gig / informal workers: Embed income #protection proxies (hospital cash, accident) tied to regular wallet activity. ➖ Remittance recipients (if you have corridors): Embed funeral/health micro-covers triggered by remittance receipt patterns Part 2 next

I’ve worked and partnered with several Insurtech founders for more than a decade and I've noticed something changing for a while, but even more so since the proliferation of generative AI. The insurance organization workforce, the context of your solution is way different. Earlier on, success was built on the innovation of new capabilities tech startups were bringing to insurance. Who can architect smarter systems was a real worry for insurers when contemplating the right tech partner. But today... it’s more about getting a clear AND continual sightline into what really matters to the user. I know design thinking isn't new, but this is different design thinking. For decades, the engineer-founder was successfully bringing new capabilities. That technical brilliance built the infrastructure we all now rely on, but the game has changed. The new unfair advantage is continually understanding your users, the many applications they're using AND the apps they're thinking about using. It's design-thinking with iteration. It's the understanding that just when you think you know, you know you really don't. What I mean by design thinking in this era is this: ➜ Understanding the customer before they speak ➜ Anticipating objections before they surface ➜ Building simplicity into complexity ➜ Making people feel safe in systems they don't understand Think about this...we are no longer asking "can you build it?" We can or we’ll find someone who will. The question today is do you really know what’s worth building and why? The founders winning are the ones who lead like product designers. If you're building in InsurTech right now, here's my advice: Build it and make it make perfect sense. To your underwriter. Your broker. Your end-user. Your next investor. Build trust into your design 👇

🧠 Start designing insurance that people actually want to engage with Let’s be honest — insurance has a customer engagement problem. Most traditional insurance products are bought once and forgotten. Touchpoints are few. Loyalty is low. And younger generations? They’re simply not buying in. Having spent years working with insurers across markets, the challenge is clear: 📉 Low engagement 📉 Underinsurance in key segments 📉 Limited customer insight despite being in a "data-rich" industry That’s why I'm excited to share Peak3 (formerly ZA Tech)'s latest whitepaper: 𝐀𝐜𝐜𝐮𝐦𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐬𝐮𝐫𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐏𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 – 𝐑𝐞𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐂𝐮𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐄𝐧𝐠𝐚𝐠𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭 𝐌𝐨𝐝𝐞𝐥 This isn’t about buzzwords or future hype — it’s a real-world approach that’s already working: ✅ Turning insurance into a dynamic, gamified, micro-policy experience ✅ Creating value across every customer interaction ✅ Capturing meaningful data through digital behaviors ✅ Boosting acquisition, retention, and product relevance — especially for Gen Z and underserved segments ✅ Proven by use cases like SNACK (Income) & CIPPT (Grab) 💡 These propositions are driving financial inclusion, protecting underserved populations, and helping insurers build ongoing, valuable relationships. Take a look and let us know what resonates with you: 🔗 Read the whitepaper: https://lnkd.in/dMNRt42R #InsuranceInnovation #CustomerEngagement #EmbeddedInsurance #Insurtech #DigitalInsurance #Peak3 #AccumulatorPropositions #InsuranceTransformation Carling S. Esben Seyffart Sørensen Vincent Wild Patrick Larnaudie-Eiffel Roeland de With Adrien Lebègue

⁉️ 𝙏𝙝𝙚 𝙦𝙪𝙚𝙨𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩 𝙘𝙝𝙖𝙣𝙜𝙚𝙨 𝙩𝙝𝙚 𝙙𝙚𝙢𝙤 I'm sitting in a carrier's conference room, watching a vendor wrap up a sleek AI claims demo. Fast triage. Clean interface. Impressive accuracy. Then the claims leader next to me asks: "𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀?" Silence. The vendor searches his slides like the answer might be hiding in 8-point font, then pivots to cycle times and cost per claim. The claims leader nods. But I watch the energy leave the room, not because the tech was weak, but because the human question wasn’t part of the story. I flew home thinking about that silence. And it changed the way I listen in demos. Here's what I've learned separates InsurTech vendors who get traction from those who stall: 1️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗲𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗵𝘂𝗺𝗮𝗻 𝗶𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗽, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗮𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗺 Insurance isn’t e-commerce. The adjuster calling a policyholder after a house fire isn’t a bottleneck to be automated. She’s the reason the policyholder renews. The best tools elevate her judgment, cut the grunt work, and surface sharper information exactly when she needs it. Peter Piotrowski put it well in his recent Digital Insurance article: technology should pass the "does it elevate our people" test. 2️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗱𝗼𝗻'𝘁 𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁 𝘀𝗲𝗹𝗹 𝗮 𝘃𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻…𝘁𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝘀𝗼𝗹𝘃𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘀𝗲𝗾𝘂𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗶𝗻𝗴 Carriers don’t struggle with 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 to adopt AI. They struggle with 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘵 when systems are older than half the team and institutional knowledge lives in the heads of adjusters nearing retirement. Vendors who win help carriers pick one practical, high-impact starting point and bring people along without losing what makes them good. 3️⃣ 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝘆 𝗯𝘂𝗶𝗹𝗱 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗱𝗲𝗺𝗼 The AI tools carriers can't live without rarely start glamorous...shaving 30 minutes off a repetitive task or surfacing a critical detail at the exact moment it matters. But the companies gaining real traction use that early trust to go deeper, shifting from "nice efficiency boost" to "load-bearing infrastructure." That's the difference between a point solution and a long-term partner. ➡️ 𝗛𝗲𝗿𝗲'𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗴𝘂𝘁-𝗰𝗵𝗲𝗰𝗸 𝗜 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗳𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀: If your product disappeared tomorrow, would your clients notice by lunchtime…or next month? Build for lunchtime. I think about that claims leader often. He wasn’t trying to derail the deal. He was offering a roadmap to win it: "𝗛𝗼𝘄 𝗱𝗼𝗲𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗺𝘆 𝗮𝗱𝗷𝘂𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀 𝗯𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗶𝗿 𝗷𝗼𝗯𝘀?" Answer that - clearly and specifically - and you won’t watch a room go quiet again. #InsurTech #AgenticAI #InsuranceInnovation

🧠 NeuroUX in Insurtech: Designing Onboarding That Feels Right Most insurance onboarding flows rely on logic. But real user decisions? They're emotional, intuitive — and often subconscious. That’s why more insurtech companies are tapping into NeuroUX — the blend of UX design, neuroscience, and behavioral psychology. Here’s how it's making onboarding smarter: ✅ Chunked steps reduce cognitive overload ✅ Progress bars trigger dopamine (yes, really) ✅ Warm colors + loss-framing = higher engagement ✅ Eye-tracking & biometrics help fine-tune UX 🔍 Companies like Lemonade and Allianz are already experimenting with neuroscience-backed design to increase trust and reduce friction. 💡 The goal? Align design with how the brain actually works — not just how we think it should. Would you test your onboarding with neurofeedback? Let’s talk. #Insurtech #NeuroUX #UXDesign #BehavioralScience #InsuranceInnovation