I frequently speak with startups looking to break into and (attempt to) disrupt the insurance sector but I'm often left questioning what problem it is that they are actually solving.
The insurance industry seems like low hanging fruit for startups. Its technological development hasn't kept pace with other industries and products often seem like they aren't evolving as quickly as consumer demand.
But there is a reason why few InsurTech startups have gained significant traction: they often aren't solving the right problems.
InsurTech startups (and the industry more broadly) is in a fortunate position to be following in the footsteps of the FinTech movement.
The finance sector faced many of the same challenges with regulation and legacy systems and startups looking to make an impact on the insurance industry should look closely at the most successful FinTech startups and identify the the true problems they solved were.
This is more than recognising what they did, it's generating a deep understanding of the core pain point the consumer had and the subsequent experience that provided a successful solution.
Starting a startup is hard. But for those looking to make an impact on the insurance sector the roadmap has already been laid out if they choose to follow it.
“InsurTech is aiming to do to the insurance industry what Fintech did to the banking industry,” said Nick Pester of Capital Law. “Customers are demanding more information, more flexible products
