Raunak Mehta, Co-Founder and CEO, Igloo
This article was first published on September 6, 2022. Ever since then, igloo has increased its Series B funding round and introduced new products and partnerships to the markets.
Data by the Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK) revealed that the country has the lowest insurance penetration rate in Southeast Asia at just 1.9 per cent. As if this was not challenging enough, the pandemic has also affected insurance sales by 40 per cent as sales intermediaries are pushed to digitalise their works in such a short time.
This situation provides plenty of opportunities for insurtech companies to showcase their innovation –something that Singapore-based Igloo is trying to do.
Recently, the company launched its new AI platform Ignite by Igloo, introduced to enhance sales intermediaries’ productivity and enable a faster sales cycle. Offering various insurance products on a single platform, Ignite allows easy comparability and supports partners in improved customer engagement and product management.
Following the launch of this platform in Vietnam, in August, Igloo finally introduced the platform to Indonesia as its second market, offering motor and personal accident insurance by eight insurers in Indonesia. The company is looking forward to launching travel and property insurance products on the platform soon, as they are seizing opportunities in the market.
So, what is the story behind the launch of this new product? What are the thought processes behind product development? How does Igloo plan to acquire users for this product? In an email interview with e27, Raunak Mehta, Co-Founder and CEO of Igloo, gives all the answers, giving us a glimpse into how the company work.
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The following is an edited excerpt of the interview.
Can you tell us about the product development process behind this product?
Insurance is largely an offline play in Southeast Asia, with a digital insurance penetration rate of two per cent and most insurance sales being facilitated by agents and brokers. Despite the accelerated adoption of digital lifestyles, especially during the pandemic, and 75 per cent of users in the region having access to basic data on their smartphones, accessibility to insurance still remains very low.
We saw a huge opportunity to address this issue by providing a digital solution for agents and sales intermediaries to improve efficiency, increase their reach and optimise their opportunities to convert into sales. Ignite by Igloo is exactly this solution that enables them to sell anywhere, anytime to enhance their productivity.
Ignite shows up multiple insurance products on a single platform and allows easy comparability, enabling agents to grow and engage their customers with more products in one place. They can also recommend the most suited insurance plan for them.
Business reconciliation is another challenge for agents, with manual or offline processes susceptible to errors. By unifying sales and customer data in one place, Ignite reduces manual and inefficient paperwork for insurance sales intermediaries. It allows real-time customer updates and timely notification on claims, settlements and policy renewals. They can also transfer and receive commissions straight into their bank account.
So for the sales intermediary, there are huge benefits on Ignite – from product discovery, plan and benefits comparison to seamless customer relationship management and real-time policy activation, which is a very powerful feature that can shorten the sales cycle since the policy can be generated in a few minutes.
What are the lessons that you have learned from your launch in Vietnam? Is there anything that you applied to your launch in Indonesia? Is there any specific reason why you chose to go to Vietnam first?
Indonesia and Vietnam have low insurance penetration rates at 1.5 per cent and 3.3 per cent, respectively. There is great potential to increase insurance sales.
In Vietnam, general insurance is still largely sold via offline channels that are highly fragmented. So, we took that window of opportunity and introduced Ignite first in Vietnam. That also gave us a headstart in the market as few players currently provide the solutions Ignite does.
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In Indonesia, the combination of its compelling macro backdrop and fast-growing digital economy is a massive opportunity for us to scale quickly.
We also adapt learnings from each country and modify our platform to fit our chosen target market better. For instance, one feature available exclusively to the Indonesian market is FastQuote. It is a feature that shortens the purchase flow by calculating premiums and generating quotes within seconds. Sales intermediaries can benefit from the quick and convenient user flow where they calculate premiums, generate and send e-quotes to the customer and complete the purchase cycle.
We are also focused on further improving the app experience for the users in Indonesia, providing dedicated training and materials for sales intermediaries to use in both online and offline approaches.
What will be your target for this product in Indonesia?
Over 1,000 sales intermediaries in Indonesia are already using Ignite to maximise their performance, and the network continues to expand further.
What is your user acquisition strategy?
There are a couple of sales intermediary segments that we look at:
Life insurance agents who have prior experience and established customer networks to whom they can sell general insurance products such as personal accidents and motor insurance, among others.
Adjacent sales intermediaries, for instance – financial advisors and auto dealers who provide more value to their customers by offering relevant insurance protection.
Gig economy workers who want to supplement their income with Ignite. For this segment, Ignite also provides training and onboarding that helps them get acquainted and start easily on their insurance sales journey.
What do you think will be the main challenges for your launch in Indonesia, and how do you plan to deal with them?
In Indonesia, there are already players in this same space. Our challenge is to iterate on our proposition and product features based on what our users, as well as the data, is telling us to improve our offering more quickly and in ways better than our competition. Secondly, there is also a geographical aspect to consider, as Indonesia and Vietnam are vast areas to cover.
What is your next market after Indonesia?
Igloo is a regional player that operates in eight markets across Southeast Asia, and our future expansion plans will be based on our assessments of where and how Ignite can suitably address challenges for agents and sales intermediaries.
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Image Credit: igloo
The post Behind the product: How Igloo plans to support insurance sales intermediaries with its new platform appeared first on e27.