Bought By Many embraces the API economy

Though a small country, Sweden has very high penetration rates for pet insurance, an area of expertise for Bought By Many. Pet insurance was the company’s original product and it underwrites this line itself, as opposed to selling it on behalf of another insurer.

Guy Farley, founder and chief technology officer of Bought By Many, says the move is reflective of the way he sees the company growing in the future. Though the pet insurance product being launched is owned by Bought By Many, it will distribute it through multiple partners and channels.

This is a reflection of the growing importance of the so-called API economy (application programming interface economy) – a general term that describes the way application programming interfaces (APIs) can enable diverse platforms, apps, and systems to connect and share data with each other.

This will also be the theme of a presentation he will make at  Intelligent Insurtech Europe 2018, which will take place in London on October 15.

For Farley, the rise of the API economy will define the business models of many insurers going forward in terms of the way they sell and distribute their products. He foresees far more consumers buying insurance at the point of use or point of sale and various platforms interacting to enable this.

He offers two good examples of where this could become mainstream. The use of telematics in vehicles could allow insurance to apply only while it is being driven, for example. Equally, the option of insurance could be made available at the point of sale of large electronic items, for example. He notes that this latter example would suddenly leverage thousands of retailers as distribution partners for the industry.

“It is a fast changing landscape, which senior executives, the decision makers in insurers, need to be aware of and understand,” Farley said. “It is easy to assume that it is easier for smaller, nimble, companies to embrace this, and assume larger players will be cumbersome and slow moving.

“But there are pros and cons for each. Smaller companies can embrace technology faster but may not have the product or distribution; larger companies have these things but have the dilemma of how they bolt on new platforms to their main frame, their incumbent technology.”

He says Bought By Many is closer to a start-up than it is an established player, allowing it to add to its product suite and distribution channels easily. “Our future growth will be through finding new distribution partners – consumers will be more and more directed by the journeyyou can build for them,” he says. “But I also see an opportunity to build a solid B2C brand as well.”

Bought By Many is unusual in that it offers a mix of its own products and acts as a distribution partner for some other products, directing customers to its partners. It was launched in 2012 when it started creating groups for people with specific insurance needs and negotiating deals and discounts with established insurers.

It launched its own unique products in 2017 – pet insurance for cat and dog owners, and travel insurance for people with medical conditions. It is working on new product launches.

Farley said it wants to use the Intelligent Insurtech Europe to “take the temperature” of the industry and potentially seek new partners to work with.

If you enjoyed this story and have an interest in Insurtech, join us at Intelligent InsurTECH Europe 2018, the only insurtech event with dedicated streams for CXOs, Data/Analytics, and Claims.  Find out more here.