After 2021, which was a year of timid recovery for the insurance sector, 2022 will be a year of dynamic investment: with a growth of more than 30% in digital media budgets, and a diversification of social networks, which remain an important channel. There are many initiatives to develop customer experience, specially in digital areas, with a particular focus on mobile applications. This innovation also involves more partnerships and integration of services, distinctly with InsurTech players, as well as the creation of new business ecosystems.
Tight trio at the top of the 2022 ranking
Digitalization is accelerating. Helsana, TCS and Groupe Mutuel, which dominate the ranking, are progressing on average more than the other market players. Overall, health insurers are making more progress than players in any other market segment. This is due to the fact that the maturity level of customer relations is higher, and interactions are more frequent via multiple digital services (scanning and sending invoices, changing deductibles, requesting new complementary products, questions about product coverage, etc.). The budgets allocated to digital media have increased significantly (+31%), driven by health insurers who invest more heavily than non-life and accident insurers (10 point difference in the growth of digital media budgets between the two types of insurance).
Insurers are developing their audiences and services to make their services increasingly multi-channel
The industry trend is to develop differentiated interaction services with the return of instant messaging, chatbots, and better integration of social networks in customer service. “The objective of insurers today is to make customer relations more fluid on digital channels, without forgetting that agencies and advisors remain the main point of contact for customers. We are talking about a digitally-enhanced advisor,” says Jean Meneveau, Associate Director of Colombus Consulting.
Mobile applications are the focus of innovation in the sector
While mobile applications have historically offered functionalities covering basic needs (claims management, scanning of invoices, contact with the insurance company), this offer is evolving: SWICA, CSS, Sanitas, and Helsana now offer digital health coaching on more advanced mobile applications. The new Twint+ service offers travel insurance or insurance on everyday objects, in partnership with Würth financial services on the “App Only” market, while Revolut travel insurance only remains available in Europe and not in Switzerland.
A diversification of social networks
As far as social networks are concerned, Instagram and LinkedIn are the leaders, with a total of 78% of engagements, while Facebook is losing momentum compared to 2021. Visana and Helsana excel in this field, while leading on Instagram; additionally, Helvetia SwissLife and La Mobilière are leading on LinkedIn. The runners-up are better positioned on Facebook (especially Groupe Mutuel and Zurich). We can also see that the content is less distinguished by the network, as LinkedIn is no longer reserved for employer branding, but is also becoming a way to target private and institutional clients. Finally, the Tik Tok wave has not yet swept over the insurance sector, with companies contenting themselves with a few experiments on this rapidly expanding network.
Continued growth of InsurTech drives the sector
Despite a slowdown in fundraising, InsurTech players are showing continued growth in 2022. At the European level, the sector is divided into two families: on one hand, companies that position themselves as front-line competitors of traditional insurers (e.g., the German company Wefox and the French companies Alan and +Simple), and on the other hand, providers of specialized services and solutions (e.g., the French company Shift Technology, which specializes in fraud detection, and the English company Envelop Risk, which specializes in reinsurance). Similar to AXA Switzerland, which bought the start-up Kinastic in 2022; the acquisition or partnerships between insurers and InsurTech are sustained.
The emergence of new ecosystems is taking shape
The dynamics of InsurTech players have pushed insurance companies to innovate, leading to the emergence of a new trend: business ecosystems that allow players in the same sector to join forces to create new services. We note the arrival of Well, bringing together CSS Insurance, Visana, telemedicine provider Medi24 and online pharmacy Zur Rose, offering new integrated services between companies. Likewise, Compassana brings together the insurers Groupe Mutuel, Helsana and Swica, as well as the healthcare groups Medbase and Hirslanden, and is expected to launch services that will also be scrutinized by the market. “Indeed, customer expectations are high in the insurance sector, where the digital customer experience often lags behind other sectors,” says Jean Meneveau.
Should digitalization be achieved through “Open Insurance”?
Between the integration of new services, partnerships and the creation of ecosystems, the insurance market is becoming more open. While, historically, collaborations between companies were aimed at extending the range of services, today, Open Insurance should make it possible to offer new end-to-end services, or even to integrate players from outside the sector. “The excellence of the experience for both customers and employees remains a strong driver of innovation in a market that is constantly looking for new services,” concludes Jean Meneveau.
Methodology
We offer a digital index to measure the 360° digital performance of operators according to more than 50 indicators:
– Website: audience, performance (bounce rate, visit time and load time), Customer experience (design, content and functions)
– Mobile apps: updates, comments and ratings, NPS (Net Promoter Score), in-store Search (ASO)
– Digital marketing: SEO, display, email, social networks, partners and earned media
– Social networks: Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, Instagram
Analyzed insurers: Allianz, Assura, Atupri, Axa, Bâloise, Concordia, CSS. Elvia, Generali, Groupe Mutuel, Helsana, Helvetia, la Mobilière, ÖKK, Sanitas, Swica, Swisslife, Sympany, TCS, Vaudoise, Visana, Wefox, Zurich