Anthemis Insurtech Forum: The Future of Life, Health and Retirement

In contrast with innovation in property and casualty insurance, lines of business like life, health and retirement are often said to be the ‘forgotten’ part of insurtech. With this in mind, we felt that it was time to shine a light on this huge part of the insurance industry, as well as some of the great work being done to generate efficiencies and improve customer experience.

Our expert session, hosted by me and Ruth Foxe Blader, featured Melissa Danielsen from Joshin, Rich LaVoice from Symetra, and Rhian Horgan from Kindur. We questioned:

• How are life, health and retirement insurers preparing themselves for their futures?
• Is product innovation the secret to reimagining life and health insurance?
• What are insurers investing in today, to future-proof their businesses?

When you stop to think about it, life insurance is both a strange and complicated purchase to make. The options — level term? Variable universal life? The length — compared to a typical home insurance policy lasting 12 months, a typical life insurance policy can be 15, 20 or even 25 years in length. Finally, the benefit — you, as the buyer, never get the benefit you’re buying (that’s right, peace of mind is what you get).

Yet, against the backdrop of all of the above, the life and retirement industry seems to be experiencing change at a rate never seen before. Traditionally, these products have been sold face to face. Amid a pandemic, what does this mean for insurers? As Rich from Symetra shared, it partly means a need to adapt to digital processes, including Zoom. “You have to find new ways to interact — I see a proliferation of digitised tools to enable sellers to be more efficient and effective.”

But: is product innovation enough? As Rhian from Kindur commented, “product innovation is definitely the start, but at times there is so much focused on individual product innovation that we forget what the total customer experience is.” Addressing this, the company has launched Silvur, a new all-in-one retirement planning app that empowers boomers to reach their goals during times of market uncertainty. Now customers can track their retirement goals and increase their retiree paycheck, all in one place.

In health, we’ve observed that innovation goes well beyond the distribution of health insurance. It also extends to the provision of other services that can help to address an individual’s (or family’s) overall wellbeing. Take Joshin, for example. Families download Joshin and get matched with a network of local, experienced and screened caregivers. Families can pay for their Joshin membership through their self-directed Medicaid budget, with a private pay option also available. Date night (together with your sanity) is back on the cards.

To hear more about the impact of technology on the life, health and retirement industries, sign up and listen! If you have missed any of our recent insurance webinars, check out the replays here.