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Content sponsored by Branch
November 7, 2022
4 Min Read
Embedded insurance has been a buzzword in the auto industry for decades. The automotive industry has been hoping to ease the process of finding insurance for their customers, and insurers have been eager to get access to customers during the auto purchasing or financing process. Yet, despite years of enhancements, truly embedded insurance remains “the next big thing.”
Why hasn’t embedded insurance taken off? Even as the technology to provide insurance has gotten better, the experience of binding during an insurable moment isn’t quite yet what customers are looking for. We propose the following three reasons why customers aren’t loving embedded insurance.
Shopping for a new policy (even in an embedded fashion) is currently burdened by a lengthy and ineffective data gathering process. In the past, insurance hasn’t been easy to embed into automotive retail and financing workflows because of its data burden (how much info was needed to accurately and fairly price a policy). By limiting the data input needed, employing technology and automation to price and bind home and auto - the friction is eliminated, the customer feels well-informed, and a bind can occur immediately.
Bundling is key, but not easy. 78% percent of U.S. homeowners on-average bundle their car and home insurance according to data from Bain and Company. So, it stands to reason that when purchasing a new car, they don’t want to purchase new car insurance alone, they want to bundle. Consumers prefer bundling because it gives them one point of contact to manage their policies and represents an annual average savings of about 16%. If a great consumer experience is going to exist in embedded insurance, bundling must be quick, intuitive and bring relevant information to the shopper, in the moment of consideration.
Bait and switch tactics don’t work. With most comparative raters, the promise of savings through bundling still requires speaking with an agent.
These structural problems of insurance—that it hasn’t been offered at the right time in the most convenient and cost-effective way—no longer has to apply. Technology and underwriting can now help solve these distribution challenges with bundling front and center. And that’s a huge opportunity for automotive operating partners to incorporate insurance into their online consumer experiences, friction-free.
For example, Branch has joined forces with automotive operating and finance partners like OpenRoad Lending to bring embedded, frictionless bundling to all applicants, at the exact moment they’re looking for a loan, they are able to fully evaluate a switch in coverage. The partnership, underwriting and technology allow for peerless customer service and claims management, which is backed up by the carriers’ sales service and claims departments.
“The ability to bring additional value without adding complexity has deepened our relationships with our customers, increasing trust in our product and delivering real results to our business,” says Don Chapman, Chief Marketing Officer of OpenRoad Lending. “Working with a partner like Branch, who prioritizes the customer experience as much as we do, has allowed us to rethink all that we can do for our customers.
In this model, all three of the consumer pain points are removed and the insurable moment matches the automotive shopping experience.
Embedded insurance is here to stay. Next steps are to rethink the role it could play and how to make it easier for customers to take that next step with minimal friction.
Amy Hughes: As Senior Director for Business Development for Branch Insurance, Amy helps auto lending and dealer service providers reap the benefits of offering simple, relevant, and compelling embedded insurance. Prior to her role at Branch, Amy was the senior director of dealer insights at Experian, where she served as a subject matter expert helping dealers use data to transform their marketing operations. Previously, Amy was responsible for driving dealer sales and business development relationships for String Automotive. Amy’s experience in business development includes embedded, white-labeled and shared marketing partnerships with Staples, American Express and the Internal Revenue Service.
About Branch: Branch is home and auto insurance that’s simple to buy and built for savings. Through its revolutionary instant-bind capability, Branch removes all of the friction associated with getting covered, helping consumers bundle their home and auto with ease. Built as a reciprocal exchange, the Branch Insurance Exchange taps into the power of community to make insurance more accessible and affordable for everyone.
Branch was launched in 2019 by insurance veteran Steve Lekas and tech entrepreneur Joe Emison, and is headquartered in Columbus, Ohio. Branch is underwritten by the Branch Insurance Exchange, Everspan Insurance Company, and General Security National Insurance Company (GSNIC) and backed by SCOR.
Interested in partnering with Branch to offer home and auto insurance bundling to your customers? Visit branch.com to learn more.
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