In the world of insurance, the vast majority of products don’t have real-time APIs.
This is a huge damper on the growth of any insurance business. APIs are at the heart of digitising insurance and creating a competitive edge in the market. That’s because APIs allow you to drive sales in various ways.
If your product is accessible via an API, you can easily launch new digital front-ends to sell directly to customers. Direct sales could be done via a website, mobile app, or even a WhatsApp bot.
Alternatively, you can embed insurance into an existing customer flow and offer insurance as an add-on to the core product you’re selling. Insurance doesn’t have to be a standalone buy. It can be coupled with the data cost of a cellphone contract, for example.
VanMoof, a Dutch brand selling smart bikes, is another great example. They sell “peace of mind” plans with their bikes that include maintenance plans and theft cover.
Lastly, looking beyond your direct distribution efforts, a real-time API is critical for enabling distribution partners to sell your products.
Using Root, Shackleton Life, who is underwritten by Old Mutual Alternative Risk Transfer (OMART), is taking advantage of these opportunities. Their products are configured on Root and accessible via battle-tested, real-time APIs.
Using the API, Shackleton is now empowered to engage more distribution partners to sell their products directly. Having well-documented APIs makes it easier for partners to engage and embed Shackleton’s insurance products into their processes.
“Having Root as our technology partner is a game-changer. Their APIs make it really easy for our partners to integrate with us. Root’s team also offers exceptional support throughout - I wouldn’t want to work with anyone else.” - Gareth Kitto, Managing Director at Shackleton Life
