Insurers are adopting internet of things (IoT) technology for claims management, but are failing to focus on using IoT as a customer engagement and retention tool.
Morten Bremild, co-founder of insurtech startup Anyware Solutions, believes that this order of priority should be reversed.
Bremild is one of more than 20 startup founders discussing how insurers can engage with consumers at the annual Intelligent InsurTECH conference on October 3 in London. Click here to find out more.
“Strategically, insurance companies need to embrace the digital paradigm, and create new, data-driven and service-related revenue streams from the ‘digital customer’,” he said.
Copenhagen-based Anyware Solutions enables insurance companies to sell ‘smart home-as-a-service’ and engage their customers about their preferences, the state of their home and household behaviour.
The Anyware Smart Adaptor (patent pending) is, according to Bremild, the “world's smallest and smartest lamp socket adaptor”.
“It’s an IoT device which is a smart home system for the insurance customer, but a data collector and engagement tool for the insurance partner,” he explained.
Controlled via smartphone, the tool is equipped with built-in sensors (sound, temperature, humidity and ambient light), and wiwi and Bluetooth connectivity.
Bremild added: “It’s necessary to equip homes with IoT sensors before we can collect data from them and reduce claims through data analytics.”
He warned that this is not currently happening because of the complexity of the solutions on the market and the lack of relevance to many customers.
Smart home technology has been around for three decades, but few solutions have been adopted by the average consumer.
Bremild believes there are a number of reasons: the value propositions are too complex, it’s too difficult to get started, and the relevance to everyday life is often unclear.
The Copenhagen-based startup wants to change this, and make a smart home easy for everyone.
“It should be as simple as fitting a light bulb and it should provide relevant benefits out of the box for users who are not necessarily tech-savvy or interested in technology—and that’s exactly what the Anyware Smart Adaptor offers.”
According to Bremild, the forces at work in the IoT/smart home market will dictate an increasing need to accommodate to the “digital customer” in terms of transparency, usage-based pricing and relevant, data-driven insurance services.
“This could very well be bundled with an insurance product rather than being a completely new IoT product,” stated Bremild.
The startup has ambitious plans. In two years’ time, it expects to be the leading IoT customer engagement infrastructure for insurers and other B2B2C partners.
“We would have done so by shifting the industry focus from smart home as a product/gadget to smart home-as-a-service,” he concluded.
Anyware Solutions is one of more than 20 insurtech startups attending Intelligent Insurer’s Intelligent InsurTECH conference on October 3 in London. Click here to find out more.
Insurtech, Claims management, Insurance, Anyware Solutions, Morten Bremild, Europe, London
