In the second episode of Hacking Insurance, our host Rodrigo Alfonso talks with Diego Fernández, CEO and co-founder of Simplee, and Daniel Briceño, Product Owner at MOVii.
Hacking Insurance is a podcast where you can learn about the latest digital trends in the insurance and insurtech world from industry leaders. Our host, Rodrigo Alfonso, is co-founder of Sekure, the LATAM market’s embedded insurance distribution network. Throughout the episodes, Rodrigo will talk with guests about technology, innovation, and the impact of Insurtech on the insurance industry.
Expanding access to insurance for those who need it most in Latin America
Simplee is an insurance broker that was born in Chile to provide entrepreneurs and SMEs with insurance in a simple way and at a fair price. The startup has already expanded to Mexico and intends to enter the U.S. market. It also has 7,000 clients and has partnered with 14 insurance companies.
MOVii, on the other hand, is a Colombian fintech that specializes in providing access to financial services to underserved populations. Although the company offers products such as debit cards, Daniel works with a new product that the fintech started selling: insurance. Daniel’s mission within MOVii is to extend the insurance offering to the entire Colombian population and to spread the message of why everyone should be able to access it.
In this episode, Rodrigo talks with his guests about the paradigm that the general population has about insurance: that it is a product for the wealthy. Diego and Daniel work to make the portion of the population that has not had access to insurance understand what this complex product is all about and why it is worth buying.
For a long time, traditional insurers were used to being bought insurance, but not selling it. This focus on the product rather than the customer results in a homogeneous insurance offering, where the same product must fit different needs. The result is that customers end up buying it simply out of obligation. This episode’s guests explain why Simplee and MOVii choose to offer insurance that is more personalized to the customer’s needs.
Finally, in this episode of Hacking Insurance, guests share their vision for the future of the industry. The pandemic forced traditional insurers to understand the need to start going digital. But doing it on their own would require years of effort, and eventually, they will have no choice but to integrate with fintechs and insurtechs. Listen to this episode to find out in detail what they forecast for this industry.
Outline of this episode:
- [01:23] – Introduction to Diego Fernandez
- [03:50] – Simplee in numbers
- [05:20] – Introduction to Daniel Briceño
- [07:40] – The lack of education around insurance
- [09:13] – The key to Simplee’s success
- [13:20] – Focusing on the product vs. focusing on the customer
- [15:25] – Lack of communication between client, advisor, and insurer
- [18:31] – The key to MOVii’s success
- [21:52] – The changing relationship between traditional insurers and insurtechs
- [27:40] – Why MOVii eliminated the underwriting process
- [32:37] – How Simplee built trust around digital products
- [36:42] – Differences between Mexico and Chile
- [40:46] – The insurance industry in Colombia
- [41:40] – Lessons learned for Daniel selling insurance
- [46:15] – Personalized insurance
- [47:18] – Recommendations for entrepreneurs in insurance and the importance of inclusion
- [53:25] – What’s coming up for Simplee
- [52:45] – Daniel’s book recommendation
- [55:55] – Daniel’s recommendation for those who want to work in insurtech startups
- [57:34] – Diego’s book/podcast recommendation.
Resources and people mentioned:
