Today we’re chatting with Juan Manuel Gironella, CEO of Guros. Juan Manuel started his career in consulting, initially working with a global financial services consulting firm and later independently. During this time, he advised banks, insurers, and other institutions on key areas like distribution, operational efficiency, and omnichannel experience optimization. His work helped blend digital and physical experiences to boost sales and improve processes.
His expertise in optimizing distribution networks and his obsession with measuring and improving results laid the foundation for what is now Guros. In this interview, he shares how his experience as a customer and from working with insurance companies inspired him to create a tech platform that’s revolutionizing how insurance is distributed, managed, and experienced in Latin America.
What problems did you identify in the insurance industry, and what is Guros’ solution?
At Guros, we believe any company should be able to generate revenue through insurance effortlessly while offering their customers a seamless digital experience. However, the current reality is far from that. We noticed the insurance industry is stuck in a pre-digital era, with outdated systems, manual processes, rigid products, and complex regulatory barriers. This doesn’t just make selling policies difficult; it also complicates customer management, creating frustrating experiences that erode trust and loyalty toward brands.
Our business model started with the mission of building the technological infrastructure the insurance industry needs to modernize. We’ve developed a platform that redefines how insurance is distributed, managed, and experienced, starting in Mexico with the goal of expanding across Latin America. We integrate AI at every stage of a policy’s lifecycle from issuance to claims handling to streamline processes and improve customer experiences.
Our current focus is to make it easy for companies, both within and outside the insurance sector, to implement insurance programs without dealing with the traditional complexities. We aim to remove the obstacles that discourage companies from entering this market while offering solutions for traditional carriers and brokers to operate with modern digital standards, meeting today’s demands for speed and personalization.
What is the size of the insurance market in Latin America, and what is its growth potential?
The insurance market in Latin America is currently worth about $205 billion and grew by 17% in 2023 compared to 2022. It’s an industry with an attractive growth rate and impressive profitability. On average, profitability in insurance in Latin America is nearly double the global average.
However, its growth potential is enormous. There’s a significant gap in insurance penetration between Latin America and OECD countries. Closing this gap could more than double the market’s size of insurance in Latin America, meaning it could exceed $500 billion. Additionally, it’s a highly fragmented industry; the largest player in the region, Bradesco in Brazil, holds just 6% of the market, largely thanks to its banking network.
This fragmentation, combined with high profitability and low penetration, presents a unique opportunity to transform and consolidate the market. With modern and accessible tech solutions, we can lower barriers, expand insurance reach, and unlock a massive revenue stream for companies wanting to enter or expand in insurance.
What issues did you identify in the distribution and digital experience of insurance, and how does Guros address them?
We believe the main issue in the insurance industry isn’t cultural or economic, as some suggest, but rather one of distribution. The lack of adequate technology has led industry players to offer the same products through the same channels, with digital experiences that fail to meet customer expectations. This starkly contrasts with other industries in Latin America, like fintech or e-commerce, where companies like Nubank, Uber, and Mercado Libre have shown that delivering a superior digital experience is the best driver of mass adoption.
Customers are more than ready for a digital insurance experience, but the industry remains tied to legacy systems, manual processes, and operational sluggishness that can’t meet current demands. Our approach is to build an end-to-end solution that digitizes the entire process from selling insurance to post-sale management, delivering a fast and user-friendly experience.
This includes tools that enable any company, inside or outside the industry, to integrate insurance into their offerings seamlessly. We eliminate the usual technological and regulatory hurdles and automate all post-sale management associated with insurance customers. Our goal is to be the catalyst that accelerates this digital transformation, unlocking new revenue streams for any company looking to offer insurance effortlessly.
How does legacy technology affect the insurance industry, and how does Guros address it?
The insurance industry largely operates with legacy technology designed for physical channels and manual processes. These monolithic systems are hard to modify, meaning even small changes require months of effort, time, and disproportionate resources. This not only slows the launch of new products but also makes for a worse customer experience, falling far short of today’s digital expectations.
At Guros, we solve this problem with a complete tech solution that integrates every step of the process, from policy sales to claims management. Our platform is agile and scalable, allowing companies to offer insurance quickly, automate daily tasks like policy updates or customer inquiries, and significantly improve the end-user experience. By digitizing the industry, we reduce the “time to market” for new products and enable insurance carriers, brokers, and non-insurance companies to generate additional insurance revenue effortlessly.
Our ideal customers include insurance companies like carriers and brokers, as well as non-industry players like retailers, fintechs, telecom companies, and travel businesses. Interestingly, we often collaborate with companies we partially compete with, which highlights the unique value of our technology.
For example, we worked with a traditional insurer struggling to generate digital sales despite significant investment in that channel. By implementing our platform, they optimized their digital experience, resulting in a 2,700% increase in digital auto insurance sales. This initial success allowed them to expand into other verticals and increase investment in their digital channel.
For intermediaries like agents and brokers, our platform automates tedious processes such as quoting and policy issuance, freeing them to focus on closing more clients. We also provide tools for their end customers to manage their insurance independently, boosting retention and customer satisfaction.
Finally, for non-industry companies, we offer embedded insurance solutions that make integrating insurance products simple, without requiring in-house tech development. This democratizes access to insurance, helping expand the industry and reduce the penetration gap in Latin America.
How quickly can a retailer implement a partnership with Guros?
Implementation depends on the retailer’s chosen model. For example, the last retailer we partnered with launched in just 72 hours using our simplest model, which doesn’t require deep integration. In this case, we created an exclusive link for the retailer’s customers to purchase insurance directly. This is a quick and effective solution ideal for those looking to generate insurance revenue without altering their current operations.
For partners seeking a more robust model, like full embedded insurance integration, our technology leverages existing data to automatically quote and issue policies. This integration process takes between one and three weeks. The best part? The revenue potential is enormous while providing a seamless digital experience for both the customer and the partner.
You mentioned artificial intelligence. What specific uses of AI do you see in the insurance sector, and what future opportunities do you foresee?
AI has endless applications in insurance, but we see three key areas with the greatest impact:
- Fraud prevention in claims: AI can analyze vast amounts of data to detect irregular patterns and reduce claim rates by identifying fraud attempts early.
- Risk model optimization: AI improves personalization in underwriting and pricing policies, tailoring rates to each customer’s unique characteristics while maintaining profitability.
- Customer service automation: AI simplifies communication throughout the policy lifecycle, from answering pre-purchase questions to managing claims with immediate and clear responses. This not only improves customer experience but also boosts trust and loyalty.
Additionally, AI helps translate technical, complex information into simple, accessible solutions for the end customer. While many use AI to cut costs, our focus is on enhancing the customer experience and building from there.
What’s next for Guros in the next 12 months?
We’re about to hit 5 million active policies, which is a significant milestone considering we had just 30,000 a year ago. We have grown this much because of partnerships with major retailers, telecom carriers, and other key players in Mexico.
In the next 12 months, we’ll focus on:
- Expansion across Latin America: Preparing to operate in new markets like Colombia, Peru, Chile, Argentina, and Brazil, leveraging partnerships with existing multinational partners.
- Enhancing our value proposition for partners: Expanding our tech capabilities, including AI-driven data analysis and personalization, to maintain a competitive edge.
- Redefining the ideal insurance experience: Breaking current molds and continuing to innovate in claims, customer support, and insurance management experiences.
- Scaling our tech infrastructure: Strengthening our technology, data, and internal processes to support growth and handle the complexities of operating in new markets.
- Building our brand: Each new partner increases our visibility and strengthens our reputation, creating a network effect that accelerates new client and partnership acquisitions.
We’re well-positioned to seize this opportunity, and we believe the next year will be pivotal in establishing ourselves as the leading tech catalyst in the Latin American insurance industry.
This post is also available in: Español (Spanish)
