How Embedded Insurance is Elevating UI/UX to Tech Standards

UI/UX provides every brand with a critical opportunity to deliver an amazing experience and drive results that align with larger business objectives. Hiring in the UI/UX sector has been heating up and demand is high for design-minded professionals that can deliver. With consumer brands placing more and more emphasis on the user experience, it puts pressure on B2B and B2B2C brands to deliver as well. 

While the insurance industry is known more for stability, risk-aversion, and playing it safe - emerging InsurTechs are pushing the limits and pushing user experience to the forefront of insurance innovation. It’s our mission to make insurance a feature - not a standalone product. 

To do that, the user experience needs to be on par with the brands that future or current policyholders know and love. Why? Well, because our technology needs to be embedded seamlessly inside platforms. When insurance is a stand-alone product, the UI/UX also stands on its own in isolation from the brands where consumers are making their initial purchases. However, when insurance is embedded in those platforms it needs to look like it belongs. 

In this article, we’ll explore how recent innovations in embedded insurance UI/UX are creating experiences on par with tech companies - because they are created by insurance technology companies serving up great embedded insurance experiences meant to fit seamlessly within any brand’s platform.

Embedded Insurance UI/UX Gains Parity with Top Tech Companies

Insurance hasn’t been known for being design-savvy or having the latest technology. But that trend is shifting, especially with the emergence of InsurTechs and embedded insurance platforms that focus specifically on making sure the technology of insurance is utilizing the latest in customer-friendly and intuitive designs.

While these advancements are driven mainly by InsurTechs, it is important to understand why it has become a top priority among this niche group of innovators. And why some of the biggest names in insurance are paying attention.

Insurance Built by Technology Companies for Technology Companies

A new breed of innovators started building and designing insurance infrastructure several years ago focusing on different aspects of the insurance value stream – from digitally enabled insurance companies and MGAs to digital brokers and comparison sites there has been progress made in leaps and bounds. Looking at some of the top InsurTech websites you can see the similarities between top consumer or B2B brands. It is no longer all staunch lines and safe color choices. 

InsurTech brands are going bolder in their branding and their design choices looking more and more like the brands their customers know and love. 

Suited for Seamless Integration Into Any Platform

Many larger InsurTechs focus on selling directly to consumers and miss out on an opportunity to connect with brands as partners in a meaningful way. In doing so, there is an opportunity missed to connect insurance more intrinsically to any brand's core offer. 

What does this mean? If you are a carsharing platform, the people who host their cars on your platform need to procure insurance for each car they own. You could simply tell them they need car insurance and require them to perform their own research, find their own offers, and provide you with proof of insurance to be able to list their car on your platform. OR you look for ways to provide hosts seamless insurance options built into your platform. Going a step further, why not take into account the specific needs of your hosts and work with a collaborator to get coverage even more specialized for their unique needs? 

Taking on this work would be a daunting task for any non-insurance brand. The behind-the-scenes mechanisms to make this process seamless are complex, but it shouldn’t be the brand or the consumer that shoulders that burden. InsurTechs make this possible through embedded insurance or protection; some even offer low or no-code solutions making it that much easier to get started.

Fostering User Experience in Embedded Insurance & Protection

The seamless experience doesn’t have to stop with the InsurTech you deploy. We recently sat down with Richard Obousy, CEO and Founder of CitizenShipper. He shared a story that transformed the way his company thinks about user experience - all stemming from the launch of an expanded pet transportation protection program with Tint. 

After initially launching the expansion of their existing Pet Protection Program, sales were slow to start for two upgrade options. Most companies would have been quick to experiment with the price or the coverage itself but that isn’t where Obousy began. 

He knew how transformational the customer experience could be to their launch. So, he and his team began making small tweaks and changes to the UI/UX of how their protection offer was positioned. Over time, they found they were able to improve the program performance - without adjusting the price or coverage. 

“We believed in the value proposition. So we deliberately and sequentially made consistent modifications to the UI/UX. This diligence took us from one sale in two weeks to now a growing and healthy program.”

This commitment to user experience is a marker of brands that successfully market to and support their users - both technology and InsurTech.

UI/UX in Embedded Insurance & Growth 

Any embedded insurance or protection program will be measured by a few key performance indicators (KPIs). At the most basic level, each program needs to consider: revenue and losses. How much are you generating in premium and how much are you paying out in claims? 

Most people would be keen to look at program performance as a reflection of pricing, program benefits, coverage levels, and deductible amounts - you wouldn’t be wrong but you would be missing one key factor that significantly impacts the growth of your program. User experience may be the most important and most overlooked element impacting the performance of your program. 

If users don’t understand coverage, don’t see the option to purchase, or have to manually fill out pages of data your program is unlikely to be a success - even if the coverage is relevant and priced competitively. If you are looking to build an insurance or protection program into your platform we suggest putting yourself in the shoes of your users and thinking about which option you’d be more likely to purchase. Selecting a partner that focuses on your customer's experience is a partner that is committed to your growth.