The rush to digitize

Allianz took a minority stake in Berlin-based Simplesurance, which distributes its products in 28 European countries via customer portals like Schutzklick.de in Germany as well as some 1,500 online shops, in an effort to “meet customers’ needs anywhere and at any time”. Back home, SIAA (Strategic Insurance Agency Alliance) reported $6 billion of in-force written premium in 2015 across some 5,700 member agencies. The group offers its agency members educational tools to support them in their path to digitization as well as a consumer-facing web portal by the name of Insurancedeals4u.com, which suggests ‘we couldn’t care less about branding’.