SA insurtech startup digitally sells 1 000 insurance policies a day

Surestart, a local insurtech startup that provides and distributes insurance products has showcased its ability to digitally sell 1 000 insurance policies a day, with only two members of staff working remotely due to Covid-19. 

The startup reimagines the delivery process of insurance and collaborates with eCommerce businesses that can provide insurance as an additional revenue stream.

  Surestart partners with Commerce businesses to re-imagine insurance delivery

In an official press release, Travys Wilkins, executive director of Surestart comments that the increase in sales has been a result of the growing eCommerce ecosystem during Covid-19.

“Covid-19 has rapidly ramped up the success of e-commerce businesses with whom we partner. In fact, we’ve seen a 400% increase in sales throughout lockdown. There’s been a marked shift in consumer demand and buying behaviour. Where insurance was traditionally sold face-to-face via brokers, social distancing meant that customers had to get comfortable buying insurance via digital channels.”

The insurance industry experiences strict regulations as there is little margin available after costly overhead and operational expenses.

Surestart

Surestart aims to tackle challenges experienced in the insurance industry through technology which ensures cost reduction, a decrease in manual errors, and time delays. In addition, Surestart provides complete transparency while increasing the accessibility of products. The insurtech startup’s business model aims to share revenue with its partners.

Covid-19 has heavily impacted businesses and showcases the importance of adopting multiple revenue streams. The new insurance normal, according to Wilkins, will be a hybrid model that combines staff and digital channels. 

Surestart’s partnerships

Surestart designs products to enhance eCommerce business platforms. eCommerce businesses that partner with Surestart aim to add value to their offers by using the insurtech startup to automate the production of sales as well as the administration process.

The insurtech startup ensures low operational costs for the relevant legislation as there is a lack of human intervention. The investment risk is shared between partners which prevents eCommerce businesses from shifting to a financial service provider. 

SweepSouth, a home cleaning service partnered with Surestart and added two Surestart offerings. The additional features added to the cleaning service gives clients the option to add-on cover for damage, theft, or fire. This feature is presented in the form of a check box and is available when clients check out of the platform.

Domestic insurance was also added to the SweepSouth platform to allow employers’ domestic workers to receive death, disability, and critical illness benefits. The domestic insurance operates from R20 a month. SweepSouth benefitted a lot from this offering amidst the Covid-19 pandemic as the platform was unable to offer its usual services. 

Dean Hopf, head of Marketing at SweepSouth explains that the partnership between SweepSouth and Surestart allows for more user attraction as products gain value through added offerings. 

“Through our partnership with Surestart, we have been able to add offerings to both new and existing products. This has provided a better experience to our existing users while also enabling us to increase our reach to new users.”

Pargo, a logistics company that allows consumers, companies, and couriers to send and receive parcels at retail stores via pickup points across Southern Africa. Pargo partnered with Transact and Protect Insure (TPI), an underwriting management company that provides insurance for the digitally-driven age. The TPI company creates custom-designed goods in transit policy which decreases the costs on Pargo’s commercial policy.

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Featured Image: Scott Graham via Unsplash