Embedded Insurance. What is it?
The concept of embedding a product or service into another product or service is not new concept. A common example is earning mileage points through a credit card. On the other hand, embedded insurance is still less known and considered the future of the industry by many.
In general, there are two embedded insurance concepts to note:
- Insurance that is included as a feature (and thus not optional) as part of a bigger product or service. i.e. A credit card that offers extended protection on products that are purchased on the card
- Insurance that is offered in the purchase journey of another product or service. i.e. Offering travel insurance as part of a flight booking process
Traditionally, embedded insurance was limited due to technological limitations. Many insurance products require a lot of information from the insured which requires a lot of manual entry/processing. However, with the advancement of technologies, APIs and more open data, it is now possible to automate large parts of the underwriting process resulting in more embedded insurance opportunities.
Some common examples include:
- Tesla offering or including insurance as part of the vehicle purchase
- Grubhub and OTHRSource offering health benefits as part of the driver/contractor onboarding process
- Special Events insurance being offered through rental venues as part of the venue rental agreement
- Business registration platforms including business insurance as part of the business creation process
By embedding insurance, it provides users insurance when it’s most top of mind. This in turn closes the protection gap (defined as the lack of access to the right insurance coverage at the right time) and makes insurance more accessible to everyone, not just people that can afford traditional annual policies. So in a way, embedded not only makes insurance quick and easy, it also makes it more fair empowering social mobility.
At JAUNTIN’ we enable insurers to embed their products quickly and easily into third parties like Grubhub, bringing down the cost of acquisition significantly. For embedding options and examples, please see here.