Insurance is one of life’s boring necessities, but bolt is livening it up through technology partnerships and industry expertise. The platform works with hundreds of insurers and businesses across industries and operates in more than 35 markets on four continents.
Bolt’s financial services vertical lead Brigid McDermott said now is the time for technology to bring insurance into the twenty-first century. With experience in startups, consultancies like McKinsey, and financial services at IBM, McDermott understands the significant market share opportunity for companies who can successfully blend industry knowledge, customer relationships and technology to close the $1.8 trillion global protection gap.
Don’t digitize, transform.
The opportunity is great because there are many pain points to solve. Even though everyone knows they need insurance, they dread buying it. Few know how much they need and what an appropriate price is. And they don’t shop around.
McDermott said that’s a distribution problem. Two-thirds of American homes are underinsured.
Yet companies are willing to cover them, and that’s where bolt comes in. It brings carriers, information and opportunity together in one place. McDermott said closing that gap is about finding a price where customers will buy and companies will sell.
Why is insurance behind the technological curve? McDermott said inertia is one factor. The industry relied on certain structures and approaches for a long time.
Customer experience is another. When someone wants insurance, they want it now; they’re not comparison shopping and trying out different types like they would with a mattress.
Some companies half-heartedly embraced technology by going digital, but McDermott believes they missed the point. It’s not about replicating an approach online, it’s using technology to transform the entire experience.
Provide multiple offers in one place. Embed insurance within other financial experiences.
“It’s not just about making that information available, it’s about making the transaction available,” McDermott said. “To make that transaction available, you have to have the APIs.”
“You have to have this ecosystem structure we have built over time. That includes all of the carriers having access to the carriers, and the carriers having APIs. It includes the banks having the ability to embed this information easily into what they’re doing. There’s a certain foundational level of technology development that needs to be true across the entire ecosystem to get the momentum that we’re seeing right now.”
How bolt built a better Insurtech platform
McDermott shared some key planks in bolt’s success. Bolt talked to tech leaders in the space; they immediately understood. Instead of fearing showing multiple carrier rates in one place, they understood losing some of a growing pie comes with revenue gains.
That fosters a safe environment, a marketplace where people feel they have enough information to make informed decisions.
Financial institutions are logical business partners. McDermott said many consumers want all their financial services in one place. When they borrow for a car or home, why not embed the insurance process within that experience? They know they need it and don’t like shopping for it, so if they trust the offers presented to them within those experiences are fair, they are more likely to reward that convenience with their business. That is important in all financial sectors, but especially in those with infrequent customer contact patterns.
“From a bank’s perspective, you’re getting more revenue. You’re getting more touchpoints with the customer, and they’re happier with the experience,” McDermott said.
Don’t just digitize, transform. McDermott said the process begins with analyzing the customer experience. Minimize the amount of information they must enter, especially if the institution already has it in their records. That’s table stakes; customers are used to that level elsewhere.
Minimize customer confusion over if they are making the right choice (offer several quotes). Allow them to make choices but not too many. If the customer feels empowered in this part of the journey, they’ll feel better about the entire experience.
AI is the key 2025 insurtech story
Artificial intelligence is the key story for 2025. McDermott said it offers potential to free up human agents for higher-value tasks.
McDermott said AI in this sector is growing fast.
“The AI in this customer service option we rolled out a couple of weeks ago, is something that would have been unimaginable a year ago, and we’ve got it live and working now,” she said. “For me, that ability to interact with people at a deeper level is so important.”
Improvements in technology allow wealth managers to serve more people, not just the wealthy. And along with building wealth, AI can also safeguard consumers.
“It tends to be how you can make upside bigger, not how to mitigate downside,” McDermott noted. “As we think about it from an insurance perspective, we’re saying ‘let us help you think about how to manage that risk.’ And if AI can help us help that whole bottom of the pyramid cost-effectively, we’re doing something good.
“To me, that is what transformative technology is all about: serving people by removing inefficiencies and improving access. It’s about using technology in smart ways to minimize risk so more people can afford the right level of insurance, so people aren’t putting themselves at risk.”