COMMENTARY: THE FINTECH PLEDGE
The secret of a happy partnership The relationship between insurtechs and incumbents has not always been easy or mutually advantageous. But with six major insurers now signed up to the Fintech Pledge, Victoria Roberts, Director of the Insurtech Board at Tech Nation, believes it’s the start of something good “Five years ago there was a juxtaposition in fintech – a buy versus build debate. But people in the big institutions have recognised the value of working with fintechs, and ‘partnership’ is no longer a dirty word.” So says Victoria Roberts, director of the Fintech Delivery Panel and the Insurtech Board at the government-backed business growth network, Tech Nation. But Roberts won’t kid you that collaboration within the insurance industry is easy. Just like the wider fintech world, many
Better together: Insurtechs and corporates can learn to love each other
22
TheInsurtechMagazine | Issue 6
projects have floundered in the last few years. When the often vastly-different cultures of startup and incumbent collide there can be messy results. In a nutshell, mutual ignorance between big and small has meant the two sides often don't know how to work together. To that end, Tech Nation helped develop the Fintech Pledge last year, hailed as a first step in improving mutual understanding and communication. In September the UK’s five biggest banks signed up, and in April six major insurance players followed – Admiral, Aviva, Brit, Esure, Lloyd’s and Munich Re Digital Partners.
The pledge is one of many tools being employed by the Government and the financial sector to ensure Brexit doesn't derail the country’s progress in leveraging its position as a world-leading fintech hub. To understand why insurers are also being invited to sign the Fintech Pledge and urgently implement its actions – within six months – though, it's worth looking at a study that examined the mismatch between insurtech and incumbent. The Treasury-backed Insurtech Board, run by Tech www.fintech.finance
