Applying Behavioural Science to an InsurTech

Advent Insurance Management initially specialized in providing consultants to audit Third Party Administrators (TPAs) and offer regulatory compliance advice. They later developed a claims management platform that evolved to handle loss funds and a broader range of insurance management needs.

By talking to TPAs Advent realized that the complexity of the Lloyds of London Market was a barrier to many and they developed a product called GEMINI to help with the management of products.

The company was experiencing significant growth and gaining acclaim for its technology products, especially after GEMINI was adopted by Lloyd's of London for its insurers.

Given their strong market presence, they faced a pivotal decision: whether to continue operating under their existing brand name or to launch a new branch or entity. To assist with this decision, I conducted thorough research. I discovered that "Advent" is a commonly used name in the insurance sector, making it challenging to leverage this brand for online visibility.

Through my analysis, I identified that the company's greatest asset was its CEOs.

Each CEO had a distinguished career spanning over 30 years in the insurance market and was highly respected and trusted within the industry. Their deep understanding of market complexities was a key advantage.

Networking plays a crucial role in securing deals, and the senior leadership's extensive industry connections were instrumental in driving sales. They actively engaged with potential clients, conducted demonstrations, and showcased the company's capabilities, leveraging their reputation and expertise to generate interest and secure new business.

Having already identified that the strengths lay in the CEOs and the trust they created in clients, I decided to capitalize on authority bias.

The inclusion of senior management images on the website became a crucial element for building immediate trust. All company communications, including email campaigns, were signed by them, and they were credited as the authors of blogs, articles, and whitepapers, despite my writing the content. This approach capitalized on our natural inclination to recognize faces, a trait deeply rooted in human evolution.

Additionally, I leveraged the CEOs' LinkedIn profiles, where they had thousands of connections, to share news about the company and its services. This strategy ensured that the company reached its target audience effectively and enhanced the CEOs' positions as thought leaders in the industry.

Under their tech division, Ecliptic. Tech, one of the company’s unique selling points was its ability to build platforms in a matter of weeks. The aim was to have Insurers with problems contact Ecliptic.Tech if they were experiencing inefficiencies with their existing platforms and Ecliptic would build an alternative. When promoting or presenting their flagship product, GEMINI, they would highlight the speed of building it stating that it took just a matter of weeks. From their perspective, they thought this demonstrated their talent as most software builds in the industry take years and in comparison, they were taking weeks. However, they were confusing speed with perceptions of competency.

From a behavioral lens, I thought of the locksmith paradox and how we perceive value. Whilst we may desire speed with some products and services such as a speedy supermarket checkout there are other areas where we perceive a higher degree of value if more time has gone into the product or service. I was concerned that highlighting the fact it didn't take them very long to build their platforms may have caused resistance from potential clients as to why they were being quoted in the range of tens of thousands to license it or to value it less. (GEMINI) annual license fee is £568k).

Survey feedback showed that clients had difficulty understanding the pricing and the drop-in and Let's Build You a New Platform sessions were successful. We took away this USP from their promotional materials and sales pitches and instead concentrated on the USP of customization.