Making Way for “Pay-As-You-Use” Insurance Coverage

FACTS

• New entrant on the on-demand insurance market: the Kiasu.me offer by e-commerce start-up Synagie (from Singapore).

• This offer features a “new” concept referred to as Pay-As-You-Use.
• Instant, flexible and on-demand insurance policies covering:
  • Goods (ex.: smartphone screen break)
  • Families (health insurance, accident insurance for insured parties and their families)
  • Lifestyles (ex.: insurance policies for e-purchases)
• This service and associated insurance options are available for customers in Singapore and Southeast Asia through a mobile app and a cloud platform for partner insurance companies.
• The first offer launch by Kiasu.me consists in an insurance contract for smartphones (Device Shield) sold as a scratch card via partner mobile phone retail outlets. It includes a 12-month accidental screen damage protection and app-based concierge service enabling the customer to have the device repaired and sent back free of charge. This service is considered as a test phase prior to including other insurance offers.
• Customers are provided instant protection, based on their actual needs and on assessments by an AI technology, supposed to make relevant adjustments to the offers. Damage claims may then be dealt with automatically.

KEY FIGURES

• Synagie InsurTech subsidiary under development since 2018
• This subsidiary processed over $500M in insurance coverage (roughly 780,000 contracts).

CHALLENGES

• Making insurance services more flexible. Kiasu.me intends to provide insurance offers for goods, people, lifestyles: each case would be applied the relevant protection when needed. The group also commits to expand their set of offers using AI technologies.
• Making insurance services more accessible. Synagie guarantees full access to their offers through relying on a mobile app, as a one-stop management interface, and a network of distribution partners. For their smartphone insurance, this distribution method seems logical: customers can be targeted when purchasing a device.
• Making insurance services more affordable. Synagie relies on instant and targeted insurance options enabling them to feature affordable, scalable prices. Their policies are sold as monthly subscriptions and can be cancelled at any point.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• In line with the current on-demand insurance trend, customisation and instant subscription services stand out. And Kiasu.me stands out as one of the most mature offers on this market.
• Synagie took this concept quite far, even taking one step further compared to rival companies such as Trov (insurance offers for goods, and focus on mobility with Powered by Trov), Moonshot-Internet (France) or Vivat (The Netherlands).