22 6. The broader value story It would be a mistake to look only at the tangible results of InsurTech innovation. More generally, insurers’ approach to Startupbootcamp reflects these partners’ In fact, startups in the sector are having an impact in many different ways. stories: i. An evolving culture of innovation • In year one of the program, many firms focused on watching and learning. Over three years of Startupbootcamp, InsurTech has brought real value to Both fearful and curious about the startups, insurers were happy to incumbents, and that value continues to shift as the ways in which insurers engage from the side-lines. But even in the absence of large numbers of embrace innovation continue to evolve. partnerships, the watch and learn approach stimulated in-house innovation. Insurers set up innovation teams to explore opportunities for transformation. Fiona Williams, Business Development Executive at Admiral explains the way in • In year two, the focus moved to tactical solutions and talent. A year on, which her business’s interaction with InsurTech startups continues to change. startups embraced collaboration with insurers, and we saw the uptake “At Admiral we have a test and learn approach and are always keen to explore of proof of concepts in tactical points across the value chain. Examples new ways of doing things and improving our service to our customers whether included digital processing of claims; white labelled distribution platforms. that is through trialling new software to optimize our existing service or offering our customers an entirely new product proposition”, Williams says. “In the next • In year three of the program, insurers are starting to scale proof of concepts, few years we will continue to be interested to monitor the ever-changing startup but are looking to overcome understandable hesitation from risk and landscape with a view to partnering where we see we can create an even better compliance teams in taking experimentation to execution. value proposition for both our new and existing customers.” The opportunity for insurers is to further capitalize on this innovation by Hélène Stanway, Digital Leader of XL Catlin, says: “Insurers have to evolve and co-creating the new value propositions. The alternative is to watch as this show buyers that they are capable of innovating. That is the only way to remain innovation takes place. But while insurers will still see some benefits from attractive and competitive and is what will make a difference in the next 5, 10, 15 this approach – reduced claims from customers using third-party preventive years. The industry needs to embrace the opportunity for change. At XL Catlin, services, for example – there will also be impacts; not least, these customers we have made it one of our core values to be future-focused, and that means that will expect lower premiums. Instead, engaging with co-creation provides a route collaborating with InsurTech companies is key to our strategy.” to stronger relationships with clients, and the potential to increase revenue in prevention, where there is more space to grow. Collaborate, don’t react: what the startups say