Sanlam Indie: The SA InsurTech offering designed for the internet generation
The insurance industry is one that has been in dire need of a shake-up for a long time, due to it being overly-bureaucratic in nature and being notoriously slow-moving. This is where InsurTech — an offshoot of the FinTech market — can help. And, apparently, heavy chefs within the industry are starting to realise this. One quote from a panel discussion at the InsureTech Connect conference in 2017, featuring insurance-industry leaders, was that ‘consumers’ expectations have evolved quicker than insurance carriers. We need to continue to break down the process and partnering with InsurTech initiatives is part of sorting this out.’
The use of technology in the insurance world makes it more accessible, helps to improve efficiency as well as being more accurate in assessing risk. This has resulted in a rise in the amount of capital being invested in insurance-technology companies the world over. In fact, statistics indicate that around $2.3 billion was invested in InsurTech companies globally last year. Not only can the adoption of InsurTech — which is currently most commonly used in the automotive, healthcare, retail and manufacturing sectors — lead to a reduction in costs and a more streamlined experience, but it can aid in fraud mitigation via customer identity verification, resulting in more security and increased profitability. This is why it’s no wonder that one of the most talked-about startups in South Africa right now is Sanlam Indie. And while they may have had a rocky start, they nevertheless managed to climb their way, and are now considered a real player in the local InsurTech market.
Sanlam Indie: Making waves in the millennial market
Indie was established in 2017 by CEO and founder Peter Castleden, with Sanlam holding the majority stake in the startup. The initial brief given to them by the 100-year-old insurance giant was wide but whatever they came up with needed to appeal to younger-clients so as to future-proof their corporation. While there were high hopes for success from the onset, by 2018 it was evident that in a market based on trust, it’s difficult being the new kid on the block. In 2019, however, everything changed. After many talks and much consideration, they relaunched as Sanlam Indie — an ‘independent’ division of Sanlam — and also had the backing of multinational mobile-telecommunications company, MTN South Africa, behind them as part of the joint initiative with Sanlam. And while they might have the support from their majority stakeholder, they are able to maintain their autonomy when it comes to daily operations as well as have the freedom to innovate and find modern solutions to archaic insurance-industry problems.
But what sets Sanlam Indie apart from other players in the InsurTech space? Their objective was to make world-class financial products accessible to a wider market and to offer transparent, affordable, flexible and convenient insurance options designed to suit young adults. They are able to generate personalised, easy-to-use and easy-to-understand policies for clients online and in under 10 minutes, making it the perfect choice for a generation of digital natives who expect insurance companies to be as technologically-advanced as they are. Another offering unique to Sanlam Indie is that they match up to 100% of users’ life-insurance premiums and invest it on their behalf as a way to help people create some wealth for their future. And since stats from 2018 revealed that less than 15% of South Africans were saving anything at all, this is a much-needed boost and incentive for people to get excited about growing their money. They are able to offer this value-add because the use of technology enables them to reduce the cost of acquisition and amount of administration required for legacy life insurance and acts as a value proposition to attract more customers. This is clearly working, as they are now selling thousands of policies each month, making them a legitimate threat to other players in the world of InsurTech.
One of the main things that the founders and staff of Sanlam Indie attribute to their success were being able to find that sweet spot when it comes to managing the relationship between their startup and a massive, bureaucracy-bound institution. They recognise that the role of the startup in the corporate-venturing game is to solve problems in ways that match the existing company culture while simultaneously leveraging the expertise and experience of their trusted and well-established parent company. These types of collaborations allow for everyone to play to their strengths, whether it’s being a well-known and trusted institution or being able to come up with new, tech-focused ways to do old things, and proves that, if you go together, you can go even further.
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