How prepared are insurtechs against the threat of coronavirus?

Many companies and much of the startup world are currently talking about coronavirus. We have deliberately refrained from doing this, but would now like to share a statement. Please see below the statement from Christian Wiens on the situation of insurtechs during the coronavirus pandemic.

“The losses and costs resulting from the outbreak of coronavirus are estimated to be in the enormous sum of four trillion US dollars – but we don’t see this as reason to panic. Thanks to a mobile-first approach, technical infrastructure and direct sales, insurtechs are protected against the crisis and, right now, they are one of the most promising business models, in one of the largest markets in the world. The developments surrounding coronavirus could therefore even be described as a catalyst for insurtechs. Crises reveal how strong a digital business model is. And coronavirus in particular demonstrates the extent of the technological lead over traditional insurers.

Coronavirus also clearly shows how much every social system depends on insurance, which makes it possible for us to lead a self-determined and free life. One look at the USA backs up this assertion. The fatality rate of coronavirus is higher there, and the virus is spreading more rapidly because deficits in insurance coverage and labour law are discouraging people from seeing a doctor, even if they are showing symptoms.

The coronavirus pandemic transcends borders. So does technology, except technology has an inherently positive effect. More than ever before – and we’ve been saying this for a long time – there is now a realistic opportunity to build a truly global company in the insurance sector where sales are 100% digital. We have built the platform to achieve exactly that. Our platform enables us to run all processes for any type of insurance product in real time and across multiple currencies and languages and to quickly launch new markets.” (Christian Wiens, CEO and founder of Getsafe)

This is an assessment and a guest post by Getsafe founder Christian Wiens