Podcast Highlights: Going out to the Edge with Zurich Insurance
Zurich Insurance has made a significant stride in the insurance industry by introducing its cutting-edge suite of solutions for digitally embedded insurance across all Asian markets, Zurich Edge.
Zurich Edge represents an exciting development in Zurich Insurance’s growth strategy across the Asia Pacific region. The company already boasts a robust portfolio of over 200 partnerships in six markets, collaborating with leading brands in diverse sectors such as retail, travel, banking, fintech, e-commerce, automotive, and telecommunications. Among the prominent partners are Japan Airlines, TikTok, Citibank, and MYAirline.
We had the opportunity to discuss the platform, its rollout in Japan, and if/how the Japanese market is different from other markets in the region with Vy Pham, Regional Product Owner Digital Platforms, and Tetsuya Hattori, Head of Digital Partnerships (Japan).
The discussion explores how Zurich Edge enables Zurich to partner with companies to seamlessly integrate customized insurance products into their customer journeys, including quotes, purchasing, and claims handling.
Zurich Edge Overview
- Zurich Edge represents an exciting new phase in Zurich’s growth strategy for Asia Pacific. It leverages Zurich’s technology capabilities and insurance expertise to help business partners embed insurance into their ecosystems.
- The goal is to fully digitize customer interactions and make insurance more accessible and personalized, especially for younger, digital native consumers.
- Key features include Zurich’s full stack open architecture system, data-driven optimization of partnerships, and localized teams to develop tailored offerings.
- Zurich handles the underwriting and risk while partners provide distribution. This differentiates Zurich Edge as a two-party model compared to some insurer tech platforms.
Launching in Japan
- Zurich chose Japan as an early launch market because of the large base of digitally savvy, tech-friendly consumers combined with a lack of digitized insurance products.
- Japan Airlines was one of the first partners, enabling customers to purchase travel insurance when booking international flights on Japan Airlines’ website.
- Zurich Edge simplifies the process by automatically transferring customer data like name, birthdate, and address from the booking to the insurance application via API integration.
- While insurance is traditionally sold in person in Japan, younger generations are increasingly open to buying online, representing a major opportunity.
Partnership Opportunities
- In addition to travel, Zurich sees opportunities to embed insurance with major Japanese electronics retailers, ecommerce platforms like Rakuten, super apps, and loyalty programs.
- Products tailored for seniors are another area of opportunity, such as personal accident, health, and earthquake coverage, though often purchased by children for parents.
- Across Asia Pacific, Zurich Edge has over 200 partnerships across retail, banking, fintech and other sectors. The pipeline remains strong.
Key Challenges in Japan
- UX design is a major challenge in Japan with customers expecting far more information upfront to build trust compared to other markets.
- Regulations differ significantly from other Asian countries, requiring localized teams and customization.
- Introducing “freemium” models that offer free trial insurance has proven difficult, as Japanese consumers see free offers as potentially fraudulent.
- Payment systems are also quite different in Japan.
The Future
- Zurich Edge represents a crucial part of Zurich’s regional strategy to engage digital native consumers by providing protection and prevention services in a more seamless, easy and personalized manner.
- By helping partners like super apps enrich their offerings, Zurich hopes to build capabilities in new markets and products that can be replicated across Asia Pacific.
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