Revenue Model and Value Proposition in On-demand Insurtech

Introduction: Today, digital transformation is considered a key driver of innovation in all businesses. The emergence of technological innovation has substantially influenced all financial markets. In the insurance industry, for example, a new concept called "insurtech" has emerged, which uses technological innovation to offer new solutions to different parts of the insurance industry’s supply chain. Revenue models are new sources of innovation, and selecting an appropriate revenue model and value proposition (i.e., the best business model) is a strategic action; therefore, identification, design, and implementation of the appropriate business model are as important as selection of the best technologies and effective use of available capital and equipment. This study was based on Osterwalder's business model, a model that many researchers consider one of the most comprehensive and practical business frameworks. Although many scholars have examined various types of insurtechs from different perspectives, only a few studies have investigated insurtech business models, especially those of on-demand insurtechs. The success of on-demand insurtechs depends on the suitability of their revenue model and value proposition. In other words, these technology businesses will face many problems and challenges if they use an inefficient business model.
Methodology: This qualitative applied-experimental study identified and analyzed the revenue model and value proposition of some on-demand insurtechs and offered coherent suggestions to align these two frameworks. The sample was selected from two groups of experts in the insurance industry and the technology industry (n = 27) in Tehran, Iran. The data were collected using semi-structured interviews, and obtained data were analyzed using the thematic and content analysis methods by adopting the grounded theory approach.
Discussion and Results: any way, 48 categories related to the revenue model, value proposition, and coherent suggestions were extracted. The present study identified property and person insurance as the most frequent category of presentable values and accident insurance as the most frequent type of property insurance. Likewise, the researchers foregrounded innovation in product development, extra product personalization, and initiatives in underwriting policies as the customers’ desirable values. According to the results, it is imperative to integrate and coordinate the components of the revenue model with the value proposition parameter in the business model of on-demand insurtechs. In other words, it seems impossible to develop a successful business model by only identifying the elements of every dimension. Therefore, to integrate these components, it is necessary to consider new pricing criteria and coordinate customer business preferences. This study has also presented new suggestions as novel criteria for estimating insurance premiums in auto accident insurance.
Conclusion: The need to establish new pricing criteria and to balance the preferences of customers and sellers in on-demand insurtechs was the main finding of the present research. The findings of this study carry some practical implications for the government, legislating institutions, and insurance companies that can lead to developments in on-demand insurtechs. Practical implications for the government: Supporting private insurers, delegating big insurance companies to the private sector, offering legal facilitative and supportive financial aid packages for on-demand insurtechs as knowledge-based businesses, reducing restrictive rules and making guidelines flexible, training and promoting culture, using new on-demand insurance models in society, etc.; Practical implications for insurance companies: Developing technology in their structure, applying new pricing models and defining services, supporting agents and brokers presenting technological insurance, modeling the insurers of developed countries in the world, etc.; Practical implications for entrepreneurs: Identifying and ranking customer preferences accurately for on-demand insurance (Table 2). On-demand insurance businesses should design and introduce insurance products for every one of these preferences. Furthermore, training, culturalizing, and informing are crucial for developing on-demand insurance. These actions should seek to attract customer trust in new insurance products, recognize the necessary technological tools, and justify the advantage and privilege of on-demand insurance over conventional ones. Entrepreneurs should endeavor to identify and employ diverse and sustainable revenue streams in every insurance type. Defining strategic cooperations with other businesses, such as sharing economy businesses or conventional insurance agents, can also create a valuable competitive advantage for insurtechs. Since the business practices of on-demand insurtechs are mainly based on artificial intelligence and technology, the collection and record of macro data can also be a beneficial source for these businesses. The human resource and administrative costs are the shared points of on-demand technological and conventional insurance businesses. Insurtechs should attempt to minimize these costs by employing technology and pruning bureaucracy and human contributions.
Determining new criteria for insurance pricing in on-demand insurtechs can convince insurers to present on-demand insurance services. This step will accurately decide the probability of loss and help offer customized services considered by customers. Concerning the pricing domain, customers’ preferences (the amount they wish to pay for the presented value) should fit with insurers’ preferences (the amount they should take for offering on-demand services). The required underwriting time in micro-insurances is also a significant area where the fit between customer and insurer preferences should be observed. Future studies are recommended to probe new criteria for estimating insurance premiums in other insurance types, introduce and apply novel tools for measuring risk calculation criteria, investigate technological tools and approaches to reducing the likelihood of deception in on-demand insurtechs, measure the impact of various criteria on the probability of loss and damage, and identify and examine other components of the business model of on-demand insurtechs.