Bitesize InsurTech: Inzura
February 9, 2018 George Hanks
Inzura helps insurers digitise products and uses smartphone functionality (e.g. GPS and cameras) to improve customer experience and engagement.
The business’s founders have backgrounds in motor telematics and mobile: Richard Jelbert (CEO) pioneered app-based telematics with MyDrive Solutions (sold to Generali in 2015) and Ian McWilliams (COO) held multiple senior roles at mobile and telecom businesses, including Motorola and Lucent Technologies. Ian told us, “we realised that there was an opportunity to use apps to build customer engagement in other lines of business, in the same way telematics apps engage motor customers”.
The functionality of the Inzura platform falls into two broad categories:
- Digital Insurance Platform: Inzura allows insurers to digitise multiple insurance lines (including travel, home, motor and health/life) and make them available to customers through a single white-labelled app. The use of smartphone functions in the proposition (e.g. possession cataloguing using smartphone images) both improves customer experience (i.e. the ease of simply uploading photos onto an app) and digitises insurer processes (i.e. replacing form filling or calls to a call centre).
- Telematics Engine: Inzura provides a GPS-based telematics solution within their app, allowing insurers to offer telematic propositions (e.g. pay how you drive, or usage based insurance) without the need to install costly black boxes. Analysis of driver behaviour is made available to insurers and there is a focus on customer engagement (e.g. encouraging drivers to check the app daily and delivers rewards and vouchers for good driving).
The SaaS platform uses open APIs to integrate with insurers’ existing systems and is tailored to meet the needs of individual insurers. The business has offices in the UK and Singapore and has worked with large clients across both regions (including Chubb, Sompo and Ageas). On 31 January Inzura announced a $1m funding round (press release here), which it will use to add new functionality and expand its presence in Asia.
The Oxbow Partners view
This business is something of a smorgasbord of technology and functionality. Many InsurTechs are focusing on specific use cases (for example Shift and Tractable are using AI for claims); Inzura is providing a platform with multiple services under one roof.
This could be a wise strategy: some insurer feedback concerns the disaggregated nature of many technology propositions. There may be greater value in offering more services via a platform.
Telematics is at an interesting point right now. In the ‘old days’, the proposition only worked for segments such as young drivers – those paying high premiums that could cover the equipment and installation cost. This is now changing – Octo Telematics has, for example, recently brought out a box that can be installed by policyholders. This video from Hastings illustrates how. With equipment costs down to c.£30 and no installation, device-based telematics could be about to enter the standard market, and this could interfere with app-based propositions.
