1. How does your business model work and what is your USP?
When freelancers and small businesses want to insure all their risks, it’s a mess! They are lost in a sea of jargon, fine-print and product-centric offerings and they typically have to answer 200+ questions, sign 5 to 10 policies and receive 1,000 pages of paper in the process. +Simple is the first digital insurance Robo-Broker designed just for them. In less than 10 questions, we propose tailor-made service packages covering all their risks. They can then sign a unique, simply written policy and pay with their credit card, on a seamless e-commerce interface. They can get back to work, correctly insured in less than 5 minutes!
We are not yet another digitization solution. Rather, we are a full-stack broker without a sales team! With our partnership DNA, we help existing distributors (insurers, brokers, banks, professional associations etc.) sell insurance to SMEs, profitably. We are already boosting 15+ partners including Willis Towers Watson, BNP Paribas, Allianz etc.
2. Why did you join the InsurTech Europe powered by Plug and Play Accelerator Program? (What was your goal, what where you looking for?)
We chose to join the InsurTech Europe powered by Plug and Play Program because the program works! We have already completed a first Plug And Play batch with BNP Paribas in France, which enabled us to build a working platform to sell insurance in their physical branches in less than 4 months. Now it is time for us to scale internationally, so we leverage the Plug and Play Accelerator Program to start building long-term business relationships with major European insurers like Allianz, Munich Re or Talanx.
3. What is your biggest takeaway from the program and would you recommend other startups to join?
I would definitely recommend other startups to join! The program has provided us with a great breadth of relevant entry points with key EU stakeholders (insurers, consultants, regulators etc.). Also, it has helped us set our first foot in Germany.
4. What do you believe is the biggest challenge for innovation in SME insurance business?
I personally think that the biggest challenge for innovation in SME insurance is that most innovators are focusing on creating new products and not on improving existing distribution. It is not enough to design nice commodity products and sell them digitally at a competitive price. SMEs need advice and well-designed packages including services and a long-term partnership relationship. Difficult to justify large digital investments in a market of a thousand niches!
5. In your opinion, what can established insurance and reinsurance companies do to simplify collaborations with InsurTech startups?
Insurers and reinsurers need to find the sweet spot between keeping most doors closed and rushing hundreds of POCs that never scale. I personally believe in direct connection between start-ups and the core operations, rather than in ringfenced innovation business units. This is very demanding and requires careful pipeline monitoring and sponsorship at C-Level. Also, a network of “start-up collaboration leads” is essential in the BUs. They are the ones who know how to assess start-ups and how to keep the projects alive !
6. Munich provides one of the fastest growing digital ecosystems for insurance innovation. How is your experience here compared to other startup hotspots as Silicon Valley, London or Tel Aviv?
Munich is clearly at the heart of the European insurance ecosystem with some of the largest players worldwide. And 2018 was a great year with the combination of the Plug and Play Program, the InsurTech Hub Munich pitches at Werk 1 and the DIA conference within less than two months !
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