I interviewed Kali Bagary, CEO, The Data Company, after his presentation at COVER's Innovation Journey webinar...

Innovation is key to the continued existence and sustainability of the insurance industry amidst rapid change, needed...

With SA being a nation of small businesses, and insurance an essential service underpinning the resilience of those b...

<!-- wp:paragraph --><p><strong><em>SA’s best up and coming fintech startups sweated it out at a virtual demo day recently, where they had just 5 minutes each to convince a panel of judges that they should be part of the second phase of the <a href="https://www.alphacode.club/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AlphaCode Incubate</a> programme.</em></strong> </p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>The ten startups, which have just completed a three-month programme, competed for one of four places in an extended 6-month programme valued at almost R1,5 million each. Their success, which was validated by their ability to get traction in a short time, unlocks further funding of R500 000 each and tailored business support.</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Says Andile Maseko, head of ecosystem development at AlphaCode, “Despite a tumultuous year, a number of entrepreneurs saw how they could fill a gap in the market for financial services and related industries. Those selected in the top four earned the opportunity for further funding and mentorship. The first part of the intensive programme focused on entrepreneurship and refining business models. The second phase will focus on revenue generation.”</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>In addition, these startups will be able to apply for seed capital from AlphaCode’s fund that invests in early-stage startups.</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --><h3><strong>The four promising businesses selected</strong></h3><!-- /wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p><a href="http://www.agrikool.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">AgriCool</a>&nbsp;is an e-marketplace that links smallholding farmers and buyers to a fair and reliable market. It offers farmers access to finance, reliable information on improving their production, and it works with both formal and informal markets. Street vendors, retailers, the hospitality industry can get fresh produce delivered, saving them transportation costs.&nbsp;Founder: Zamokuhle Thwala.&nbsp;Video:&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/gyo-IOdzJ-0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://youtu.be/gyo-IOdzJ-0</a></p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p><a href="https://www.mybento.net/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Bento</a>&nbsp;is an out-of-the-box employee perks and benefits platform. It gives employers a simple and cost-effective solution to offer employee benefits without the cost and administrative burden. Employees are empowered to self-manage their benefits and perks which gives them freedom of choice over their remuneration structure and take-home pay.&nbsp;Co-founders: Claudia Snyman, Dennis Williams, Bryn Divey and Ross Horak.&nbsp;Video:&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/4FU_1buiYYQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://youtu.be/4FU_1buiYYQ</a></p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p><a href="https://www.alphacode.club/news/imfuyo-technologies-empowers-farmers-with-improved-oversight-of-their-operations" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Imfuyo Technologies</a>&nbsp;is developing a smart farming solution that will give livestock farmers better oversight of their operations at viable cost points. The initial offering will consist of a smart&nbsp;tracker that will collect critical data about cattle location and behaviour. The data is analysed to enable farmers to optimise farming activities. The platform will also serve as a de facto cattle deeds office, providing better traceability across the beef production value chain.&nbsp;Through Imfuyo Technologies, livestock farmers also have better access to financial markets.&nbsp;Founder: Allasandro Da Gama.&nbsp;Video:&nbsp;<a href="https://youtu.be/jSJzGvspE6g" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://youtu.be/jSJzGvspE6g</a></p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p><a href="http://matchkit.co/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">MatchKit.co</a>&nbsp;helps athletes better commercialise their careers. The platform helps athletes make money, regardless of the status of&nbsp;sporting events. It integrates into&nbsp;existing social media channels and stats to&nbsp;showcase the value of an athlete’s digital audience&nbsp;to potential sponsors. It also offers a plug-and-play e-commerce store where fans can purchase everything from bespoke, branded merchandise to personalised video and audio shout-outs. MatchKit.co plans to add insurtech and transactional / virtual card capabilities to their offering.&nbsp;Founders: Mike Sharman, Shaka Sisulu, Bryan Habana and Ben Karpinski. Video:<a href="https://youtu.be/qKR1IM0QckQ" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">https://youtu.be/qKR1IM0QckQ</a></p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Dominique Collett, head of AlphaCode and a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.rmih.co.za/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Rand Merchant Investments Holdings</a>&nbsp;(RMI) executive commented,&nbsp;“We have been very impressed with the level of drive of these ten startups who applied what they have learned on the AlphaCode Incubate programme as they focused on increased traction. The standard of these ideas gets better every year. It’s been a very intense time for the participants and we look forward to growing the four businesses.”&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Almost 200 fintech businesses initially applied for AlphaCode’s Incubate programme which aims to grow innovative financial services entrepreneurs and find the next OUTsurance or Discovery.&nbsp; Only ten were then selected to complete in the initial three-month programme that provided funding, guidance from performance coaches and a panel of advisory experts, access to AlphaCode’s co-working space, and opportunities to apply for further early-stage investment.&nbsp;&nbsp;</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>The panel of judges included Willem Roos, former CEO of Rain and former founder of OUTsurance; Raymond Ndlovu, CEO of Community Investment Ventures with a stake in Vumatel; Dominique Collett, a fintech specialist and senior investment executive at RMI; Danie Matthee, the CEO of OUTsurance; and Mcebo Ntombela, investment manager at&nbsp;<a href="https://www.bafokengholdings.com/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Royal Bafokeng Holdings</a>. “The panel had a good mix of entrepreneurs and corporate execs who understand the digital landscape,” explained Maseko.</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>One of the judges, Raymond Ndlovu, added, “The mix of businesses presenting this year was fascinating - a bit of everything from crypto to sports to stokvels and car repairs. The presentations were of a high standard taking into account the fact that we were all online. Look forward to the growth of all these promising businesses - whether they were selected for further incubation or not.”</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>The AlphaCode Incubate programme has disbursed R32 million in funding to 31 black-owned financial services businesses over the past five years and is viewed as South Africa’s most prestigious fintech startup initiative.&nbsp;</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>AlphaCode Incubate awards entrepreneurial packages to South Africa’s most promising financial services startups through AlphaCode with the support of Rand Merchant Investments and Royal Bafokeng Holdings.&nbsp;</p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph --><p><strong>Click2Sure</strong></p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p><strong><em>Dog and cat owners take out pet insurance to cover the costs that might arise from having a pet – accidental injuries, veterinary surgeries, prescribed medications. When it comes to households with more than one pet – two cats, a dog – these costs can really mount up.</em></strong></p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>So while it’s still a relatively small sector of the insurance industry, pet insurance is growing fast with the global pet insurance market set to reach a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2020/05/20/2036190/0/en/Pet-Insurance-Market-to-Rise-at-8-CAGR-till-2026-Increasing-Awareness-Regarding-Animal-Health-and-Well-being-Will-Bode-Well-for-the-Market-says-Fortune-Business-Insights.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">value of USD 11.25 billion</a>&nbsp;by the end of 2026. In South Africa, this trend is reflected- by the end of 2019, one South African insurer said that over 60% of households it insured had pet insurance, covering more than 100 000 pets.</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>“The growth of pets as a retail category has been exponential, as has the related growth of pet insurance. As one of the leading insurance SaaS platform enablers, we enable both insurers and affinity partners such as pet stores, vets or pet food suppliers to drive increased customer satisfaction and incremental revenues and profits.”&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/danielguasco/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Daniel Guasco</a>, Click2Sure founder.</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p><strong>Read on if you are:</strong></p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:list --><ul><li>An&nbsp;<strong>insurer</strong>&nbsp;offering pet insurance but looking for a better way to do it.</li><li>An&nbsp;<strong>insurer</strong>&nbsp;who’d like to add digital pet insurance to your customer offering.</li><li>A&nbsp;<strong>brand&nbsp;</strong>passionate about pet welfare and care wanting to deepen the relationship with your customers (and bring in some extra revenue)</li></ul><!-- /wp:list --><!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --><h4>Why the sustained growth in pet insurance?&nbsp;</h4><!-- /wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>We can speculate that it’s because pets are increasingly becoming much-loved family members, with more and more households feeling a responsibility to grant their animals the same right to medical care as they do their human family members.</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Also, during the global pandemic, the bonds between pets and humans have grown stronger. With lockdowns and the new work-from-home lifestyle, more single people have adopted pets – and all of us have spent much more time with our cats or dogs, making us more aware of their welfare. Whether our pet is a pedigree breed or a “street special” with a missing ear and a weird bark, we love them the same – and want to be able to rush them to the vet when needed, without worrying about money.</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>There’s a more technical reason, which is that pet insurance has become more widely visible to consumers, as well as faster and easier to take out, thanks to the fast-growing trend of&nbsp;<strong>embedded insuranc</strong>e. This is technology that enables a digital insurance offering to be built into almost any transaction at the point of sale. Two examples:</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:list --><ul><li>You pick up a bag of dog food from the supermarket and there’s a&nbsp;<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6780738497851465728/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">QR code on the pack</a>&nbsp;and an invitation to scan it with your phone and take out pet insurance, with a free month to start (it’s so easy to take up the offer, you think why not?).</li><li>You choose a Rogz harness and leash at the vet, and see that it’s tagged with an offer to take out pet insurance as a Value Added Service (this makes you think about what dog walks can entail, like speeding drivers or encounters with non-leashed dogs; you decide to take out insurance).</li></ul><!-- /wp:list --><!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --><h4>What makes embedded insurance more compelling than traditional insurance?</h4><!-- /wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Unlike traditional insurance which is something they might look into later, whenever they get around to it, embedded insurance is offered to consumers when it feels most relevant to them – in the case of pet insurance, just they are shopping for their pets and most likely to have their welfare top of mind, as the above examples show. Since it’s relevant, they are interested – and since it’s easy to apply with a few simple clicks, they do. So, psychology plus convenience are driving what is predicted to be a<a href="https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/embedded-insurance-3-trillion-market-opportunity-could-simon-torrance/">&nbsp;$3 trillion embedded insurance market globally.</a></p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading {"level":4} --><h4>Three important thoughts to leave you with:</h4><!-- /wp:heading --><!-- wp:list --><ul><li>As the world continues to worry about Covid-19,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.teleperformance.com/en-us/insights/blog/2021-customer-service-key-trend-empathy-is-the-star">trend analysis shows&nbsp;</a>there is a great need for brands to demonstrate more<strong>&nbsp;empathy</strong>&nbsp;to consumers; offering easy pet insurance is a way to show empathy for both consumers and their “fur babies”</li><li>Given the sustained growth of both pet insurance and embedded insurance, there is significant&nbsp;<strong>revenue&nbsp;</strong>potential in positioning yourself where the two meet.</li><li>Whether you’re a traditional insurer looking for a digital pet insurance partner, or a company passionate about increasing insurance cover for South African pets, we can launch your new offering in&nbsp;<strong>30 days.</strong></li></ul><!-- /wp:list --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p><strong>Call +27 (10) 045 4019 or e-mail&nbsp;<a href="mailto:hello@click2sure.co.za" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">hello@click2sure.co.za</a>&nbsp;if this is an opportunity you’d like to look into (ahead of competitors).</strong></p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->

<!-- wp:paragraph --><p><strong><em>There are two rivers flowing through insurance today: the need for personalisation and the demand for a simple user experience. Telematics is the merging of these rivers. In this shortened version of an article on the role of telematics in insurance, Belinda Felix from Netstar and other industry experts explain how telematics is transforming the industry right before our eyes. </em></strong></p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Vehicle telematics was originally widely used from a specialised fleet need to track heavy load vehicles and delivery drivers, to something increasingly used by the vehicle insurance sector today. Though some drivers are wary of giving their insurance provider detailed access to their driving habits, many are happy to trade off their concerns for the increased benefits and ease of use the technology offers.</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p><strong>There are essentially five broad benefits to using telematics for insurance: </strong></p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:list {"ordered":true} --><ol><li>More accurate premiums</li><li>Ability to reward (and retain) low-risk drivers&nbsp;</li><li>Accident prevention&nbsp;</li><li>Quick, seamless claims&nbsp;</li><li>Rapid accident response&nbsp;</li></ol><!-- /wp:list --><!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --><h3><strong>More accurate premiums&nbsp;</strong></h3><!-- /wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>For insurers, the benefits are substantial. It is a revolution in the making for an industry that has historically had to rely on educated guesses to rate risk. As Deloitte explains in a recent paper, <em>Auto insurance telematics, The three-minute guide</em>, “Telematics is a potential game-changer for auto insurers, allowing them to decrease reliance on proxy-based measures—such as demographics and credit scores—and incorporate real-time driving behaviors to more accurately measure driver risk.”</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Telematics takes traditional insurance a step further. Belinda Felix, General Manager for Insurance Markets at Netstar, says, “Traditionally, insurance premium calculations were based on where the vehicle 'sleeps', the make and model of the vehicle, and the age and gender of the insured driver. Insurance telematics measures ‘how you drive’ in addition to the above factors, and a consumer’s premium is based on their individual risk behaviour.”&nbsp;</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --><h3><strong>Retaining drivers&nbsp;</strong></h3><!-- /wp:heading --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Data is the new gold and telematics is the motherload. With accurate data based on behaviour, policyholders gain some control back over their insurance premiums. As Phumulani Mazvabo, Business Development Executive at Khanyisa Risk Services, explains, “Telematics helps us reward the effort and not the result.”&nbsp;</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Telematics also allows insurers to offer adaptive insurance. Insurance that adapts to real life situations with minimal input from the policyholder. Take the rapid escalation of events over the past few months: “Working from home during the Covid-19 pandemic has made more people review their insurance policies and their premiums, thus you will see more insurance product offerings like ‘Pay as you drive’ and ‘Pay how you drive’,” says Felix, as people working remotely are proactively paying lower premiums by keeping their cars safely at home in their garages.&nbsp;</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p>Among the benefits for an insurer is attracting ideal clients by merely having these types of policies on offer. “These policies generally attract lower risk drivers. Usage-based insurance (UBI) has changed the landscape of the motor insurance market and insurers slow to take up the opportunity are at risk of losing clientele to competitors that offer UBI products with premiums aligned to ‘good drivers’,” explains Felix.&nbsp;</p><!-- /wp:paragraph --><!-- wp:paragraph --><p><em><strong>Read the full version of this article in the Netstar CPD Hub. Apply for your sponsored 6 CPD hours by following this link  </strong></em><a href="https://eur01.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fgifs.africa%2Fnetstar-cpd%2F&amp;data=04%7C01%7CAndiswaN%40netstar.co.za%7C56edfb2cdad34e05e94f08d9030f4111%7C2ae977fc238e491fba435095e226806b%7C0%7C0%7C637544186315718882%7CUnknown%7CTWFpbGZsb3d8eyJWIjoiMC4wLjAwMDAiLCJQIjoiV2luMzIiLCJBTiI6Ik1haWwiLCJXVCI6Mn0%3D%7C1000&amp;sdata=2kRvVqbIVfQ8nWK%2BUnBbJbkdV4KslC29w3fS0M%2BmzH0%3D&amp;reserved=0" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><strong><em>https://gifs.africa/netstar-cpd/</em></strong></a><em><strong>. Remember, the CPD deadline is around the corner and seats are limited. Register today!</strong></em></p><!-- /wp:paragraph -->