New insurtech launches to fix 'biased, broken' motor insurance market
A new motor insurer, which aims to fix the "broken" motor insurance market claiming it to be "confusing, biased and untrusted", has launched in London. The technology-driven company led by a group of global industry figures is targeting a market worth over £14 billion annually.
Adiona is founded by Paul Harvey (pictured), who has over 30 years' experience in key leadership roles with Arma Partners, Bank of America, Goldman Sachs, and Morgan Stanley in the UK, Europe, and North America. He also spent six years’ operating directly within the insurtech sector, serving as executive chairman North America for Octo Telematics where he led business development and M&A.
The start-up is seeking to change the model of how drivers are charged for motor insurance. It has developed a tech-enabled insurance product, operating with its own usage-based insurance (UBI) model, to challenge the outdated legacy models used by many industry incumbents where policies are only priced according to factors such as age, income, location, and occupation.
Adiona says its focus will be different - its UBI model will measure and base premium costs on how, where and when customers drive, making the process "fair and transparent".
“Leveraging artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) to analyse driving behaviour, and putting this all in the hands of the driver, ensures our customers will be treated fairly and can at last benefit from personalised premiums," said Adiona CEO Harvey. "Adiona good drivers will not end up paying the penalty caused by insuring more dangerous drivers.”
Adiona claims its advanced digital platform Adiona will not only ensure fairer car insurance premiums but it will also provide a far better consumer experience, from buying a policy to digitally processing claims in minutes. The platform will also enable Adiona to significantly reduce the cost of policy administration and these savings will be passed on to the customers.
Harvey stated: “We in Adiona have rejected the opportunity to make money from our customers’ misfortune in making a claim. We appreciate that this is a traditional revenue stream but we are determined to change the way policyholders in the UK are treated.”
Adiona aims to initially target the UK motor insurance market, which covers 32 million cars and is worth over £14 billion annually. The company plans to pursue longer term opportunities across global P&C insurance markets where premiums currently amount to $2 trillion annually. Global Motor insurance premiums amount to over $780 billion annually, it said.
Adiona's advisory board is comprised of global insurance market executives including Richard Hutchinson, who will serve as strategic advisor. Hutchinson has 30 years’ executive level experience in motor insurance and is pioneer of data-driven insurance with Progressive’s Snapshot programme.
UK-based insurance entrepreneur Penny Searles is also on the company's advisory board. With 25 years’ experience in the sector, Searles has managed a number of exits, including with Wunelli (acquired by LexisNexis, 2014) and Smartdriverclub (acquired by Markerstudy, 2019).
Harvey concluded: “We are delighted and excited to launch Adiona, a customer-centric, tech-enabled motor insurance product that leverages data at scale to offer revolutionary customer experience, fairness, transparency and real value."
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