{"id":61879,"date":"2020-11-12T13:16:56","date_gmt":"2020-11-12T18:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/staging.majesco.com\/?p=61879"},"modified":"2024-07-18T13:11:42","modified_gmt":"2024-07-18T17:11:42","slug":"mapping-the-future-of-program-and-affinity-ecosystems-and-partnerships","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/staging.majesco.com\/?p=61879","title":{"rendered":"Insurance Affinity Programs: Mapping the Future of Program and Affinity Ecosystems and Partnerships"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

In the modern age of GPS, Google Maps and instant news, it\u2019s hard to imagine that for centuries, civilizations were simply blind without maps. Even approaching the modern era, explorers, such as Lewis and Clark, faced their journeys with some level of trepidation and fear for what lay beyond the known world. The maps they had were largely blank, with vague lines indicating the best descriptions they could find from trappers and natives. It was up to them to operate in the dark while they made new maps.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once we had comprehensive geographic maps, maps were still expensive and scarce. When U.S. hostilities broke out against Spain in 1898, the first map of the Philippines that President McKinley could locate in the White House was torn out of a children\u2019s geography book. He had to wait on real maps to be delivered from the Coast and Geodetic Survey.[i]<\/a>  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In some ways, however, the scarcity of maps was at least some excuse for operating in the dark. Today, insurers operate with access to thousands of \u201cmap-ready\u201d data sources. We have satellite imagery, geo-spatial data, radar to warn us of weather conditions, location data, pictures, expert demographic and geographic data, real-time IoT, telemetric and health data, social media, data related to corporate and consumer behaviors and trends and so much more!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How much more information do we need to create accurate maps of new opportunities and new markets?  Too often companies still trek blindly forward into new markets as if they were unknown territories, or they stay away from new ecosystems, partnerships and opportunities because of lack of knowledge or fear of the unknown.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is relevant and true for the Program and Affinity business. Why?  Because though companies have had some success, they have been sticking to the tried-and-true paths of partnership, white-labeling and growth instead of shifting with market and customer trends toward the newer and hotter opportunities that are not only on the horizon, but are now clearly in our midst. While the opportunities exist, however, they may not be so easily understood. We need new maps. Insurers need to identify clearly those areas of opportunity so that they can chart a course in the right direction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Spoiler Alert:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Using primary research from Majesco and our recent joint research with the Professional Insurance Marketing Association (PIMA), we <\/em>have created maps that will assist you to chart a new course to capture new opportunities for affinity and program business growth.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll find these maps in Majesco\u2019s latest thought leadership report, A Roadmap to the Future of Insurance: Program and Affinity Business<\/em><\/a>, written in conjunction with the Professional Insurance Marketing Association (PIMA). In our report, we use our joint research with PIMA and PIMA\u2019s latest research initiative, Affinity 2030: Exploring Our Blind Spots for a Brighter Future<\/em>, in conjunction with Majesco\u2019s 2020 auto<\/a> and life insurance<\/a> customer research to expose blind spots and reveal the growing opportunities for affinity and program business growth.  We\u2019ll highlight some of these maps with you in today\u2019s blog.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

To better understand the maps, we need to first look at the foundational relationship between program and affinity business<\/em> and ecosystems and partnerships<\/em>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Ecosystems & Partnerships<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Given the nature of partnerships and ecosystems, insurers have choices. They can assume multiple roles, from owner <\/em><\/strong>of the customer and unifying platform, to orchestrator <\/em><\/strong>of the products and services, or provider <\/em><\/strong>of products and services. What they achieve will depend on their ability to enter the market while it is still contains uncrowded territories. Of course, this requires leadership with an appetite for taking informed risk, the ability to move quickly, capacity to build partnerships within and outside of insurance, and strong technology capabilities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Partnerships & Integrations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

What is clear from our multi-year research is that the expansion of partner ecosystems is beginning to separate the leaders from the pack. As we have seen with customer expectations, market boundaries are no longer as relevant as they used to be. Traditional silos are falling.  Customers want to buy when and where and from whom they want. Technology is fueling new customer expectations, altering and expanding the traditional markets and channels through which insurance is sold, including retail, banking, gig or on-demand activities, automotive, transportation businesses, big tech and more. This creates greater value for the insurance industry to capture new revenue streams and gain access to a broader market through the multiplier effect.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But is the industry growing their partnerships and ecosystems? Figure 1 reflects an active level of experimenting and growing partnerships. Selling a product on a partner platform with revenue sharing stands out, with 62% of companies saying they already do this. This likely involves selling (orchestrating) a product through another insurer who does not have that product \u2013 such as direct auto writers offering another insurer\u2019s homeowners or renter\u2019s product. Likewise, selling white-labeled products from another company (54%) or white labeling your own product to be sold by another company (46%) have been traditional ways of expanding market reach.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Two newer and more innovative options also stand out:<\/p>\n\n\n\n