Now almost a year into his role as head of insurance, UK/EMEA for Earnix, Adrian Coupland (pictured) is relishing being part of its ongoing strategic evolution. It has been a good stretch for Earnix in the UK and EMEA regions, he said, which has seen the business add an array of exciting new clients and cement its customer-first proposition in the minds of the wider market.
“I’ve never worked in an organisation with such a high degree of focus on doing the right thing and solving customers’ problems,” he said. “That’s why Earnix exists – to help insurers deliver better products and achieve pricing excellence. We’ve got a very clear vision which is where we differ from a lot of other organisations where it’s about what they do rather than why they do it.”
It’s great to be a part of such a customer-orientated organisation, Coupland said, particularly given the breadth of its customer base – which ranges from small MGAs to multi-billion-dollar insurers. It’s also a particularly exciting time to be in the insurance market generally, given the vast amounts of regulatory change facing the sector amid the new Consumer Duty rules coming into play.
“Insurers are now facing more pressure to make sure that their products are fair and accessible and relevant to their consumers,” he said. “And pricing is a huge part of that. And it’s not only about Consumer Duty, you’ve also got the overlay of the cost-of-living crisis and what insurers need to do to support their customers through that.”
These external pressures have implications for the development of new insurance offerings as well as existing pricing approaches, he said, with the telematics market a case in point. Customer expectations and behaviours are changing, and they expect the insurance market to keep pace with their changing demands. People expect value for money, they expect to be looked after, and they want solutions that align with how their insurance needs have changed.
“Especially given the cost-of-living crisis, people are starting to ask why they're spending so much a year to insure a car that spends 90% of its time in the driveway,” he said. “Hybrid workplace models and remote working has changed the make-up driving risk and there’s now a far higher degree of customer expectation in the market.
“The insurance industry needs to stand up to that scrutiny and needs to be more innovative when it comes to bringing new products to the market that are tailored and priced in accordance with how people live now. Traditional insurance businesses that don’t respond to these changing requirements are risking their longevity. Somebody else will see the market opportunity and rise to the challenge.”
The insurance industry must closely examine the people that it serves and the way it serves them. The most effective starting point is at the product design stage, he said, and so the question insurers need to ask themselves is, “how do we start something different?”
Earnix is keen to work with businesses that are asking that question, Coupland said, and at the heart of the firm’s proposition is a commitment to empowering its customers to become self-sufficient. Because a true partnership empowers people, giving them the right tools and structures to solve their own problems.
“We work side-by-side with our customers first to implement the product, and then we train them so they are fully competent in that solution. That way, when they want to create their next product, they can just do it. they’re not waiting for us,” he said. “We equip them to become fully self-sufficient which is an approach that has driven a very good level of collaboration between us and our clients.”
Though they work in different product lines and part of the insurance market, the underlying theme linking all Earnix’s customers is their appetite for control, agility, profitable business and speed of delivery, Coupland said. Insurers don’t want to be dependent on the timetable of third parties when they’re looking to implement agile, flexible solutions. One of the key pain points facing insurers today is the time it takes to make pricing changes or implement new products – time nobody can afford in such a fast-changing market.
“So, that’s where our focus is for the year ahead,” he said. “On continuing to grow the profile of Earnix so that people understand who we are and how we can insurers solve problems. We’ve got a great team and a clear go-to-market strategy, so now it’s very much about execution.”
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