How insurance innovation is transforming fintech

The insurtech revolution by Andrew Harrington, chief information officer at Ripe

A seismic shift is underway—one that’s redefining the fintech ecosystem: the fusion of insurance and cutting-edge technology.  

While insurtech is sometimes seen as just another buzzword, in reality it holds the potential to define how financial services can (and should) operate for customers in the digital age. This extends far beyond the insurance sector’s traditional boundaries. 

It’s not just about digitising existing processes, but instead creating new paradigms for assessing and managing risk, improving customer engagement, streamlining online journeys and advancing product innovation with hyper-targeting and personalisation.  

The insurtech revolution is an example for the entire financial services sector, pointing towards a future where financial products are not just transactional, but transformational.  

A new AI frontier for customers 

Powerful AI tools hold a unique opportunity to improve how customers interact with and ultimately purchase insurance products. From creating intuitive and engaging interfaces to helping providers understand the needs of individual customers, AI is not just about speed; it’s about creating a relevant and tailored service. 

At Ripe, we apply Predictive AI to identify performance gaps across our websites and optimise them in real-time, significantly reducing the lag usually associated with A/B testing. By addressing potential customer pain points in this way, we can deliver robust uplifts to conversion rates faster than ever before, while also enhancing the customer experience. Recent examples of this activity translated into a 52% increase in visits to the quote page and a 9% increase in sales conversion rate. 

This type of transformation is reshaping how financial technology companies engage with their customers. While instantaneous quote generation and lightning-fast claims processing are impressive, they’re just the tip of the iceberg. The real game-changer lies in how AI and machine learning can predict how customers will interact with different website elements, from page layouts to quote question formats to call-to-action buttons.  

Financial institutions that fail to adopt this mindset not only risk falling behind but becoming commercially obsolete in an increasingly digital, competitive and user-focused market. 

A deeper understanding of consumer behaviour 

It is no longer enough to make assumptions about how customers engage with your digital platforms, or to rely solely on traditional feedback methods for insight. Instead, insurtechs are moving beyond simplistic demographic segmentation towards a deeper understanding of individual user journeys. 

At Ripe, we do this by leveraging cutting-edge neuromarketing techniques. We regularly conduct mobile-first biometric user testing on our websites, which gathers data from a range of signals such as eye tracking, facial coding and heart rate monitoring. This provides an accurate picture of how a customer interacts with our online quote and buy process and delivers valuable, actionable insight as a result. One recent project increased conversion by 20%, not only providing an uplift in sales but customer satisfaction, too. 

The future points towards this level of behaviour analysis needing to become the norm across all financial services platforms. 

The convergence of insurtech and fintech 

The lines between insurtech and fintech aren’t just blurring—they’re being erased. This convergence is not a threat to traditional financial services; it’s an opportunity to redefine what’s possible. The industry is moving towards a future where financial products are not isolated offerings, but interconnected solutions that adapt to the complex realities of modern life. 

In this evolving landscape, firms face two primary strategic paths. The first involves developing proprietary technology to meet the changing demands of increasingly digital-savvy consumers. For instance, Ripe offers policyholders the flexibility to build their own customised policies, moving away from restrictive pre-bundled packages. This approach not only caters to individual needs but also provides a quicker and simpler customer journey—a key differentiator in today’s market. 

The second path, particularly relevant for legacy firms with established systems and large customer bases, involves a more comprehensive technological transformation. Although integrating new technologies onto existing systems can be expensive, labour-intensive, and time-consuming, it’s a necessary evolution for insurance providers to remain competitive in the long term. 

Innovation through partnership 

There is also innovation to be discovered from collaborations. Those between insurtech firms and academic institutions are particularly promising, bringing together the agility and market focus of companies with the cutting-edge research and theoretical expertise of universities. Such partnerships are proving to be powerful catalysts for innovation, enabling insurtech companies to leverage advanced academic research in areas like data science, artificial intelligence, and behavioural economics. 

The impact of these collaborations extends far beyond technological advancement. By bringing together diverse perspectives, these partnerships are enabling insurtech companies to gain deeper insights into policyholder behaviours and preferences. This enhanced understanding is proving invaluable in reshaping communication strategies and marketing approaches, allowing companies to engage with customers in more meaningful and effective ways. 

Embracing the insurtech mindset 

The insurtech revolution is about seeing every customer interaction as an opportunity to learn, innovate, and improve. It is a technology-enabled commitment to continuous feedback and iteration to be successful – an approach which holds lessons for the entire financial services sector. 

As the industry looks to the future, the most successful players in fintech won’t be those with the biggest data sets or the fastest algorithms. They’ll be the ones who can translate technological capabilities into meaningful human experiences.

Image: Ripe

Robert Welbourn Robert Welbourn is an experienced financial writer. He has worked for a number of high street banks and trading platforms. He's also a published author and freelance writer and editor.