Hans Frauenlob and Rob Ellis, co-founders of Sentro attended Insurtech Australia’s InsurTechLive23 event in Sydney on February 15. They were joined by two other InsurTechNZ members, InsuredHQ and Rothburys. Hans gave us a run down afterwards.
For us it was part of an effort to better understand Sentro’s opportunities in Australia. Every market has its nuances, and the Lucky Country is no exception. It is a cliché, but there is truly no substitute for going to a new market and talking to people to learn about your opportunities.
We were already aware that the group insurance scene is dominated by the influence of compulsory superannuation schemes. For many Australians, company-provided life insurances are tied to their super schemes. This makes the superannuation schemes, rather than insurers, the major administrators of group insurance in Australia.
What we also learned was increased regulatory compliance driven by APRA (Australian Prudential Regulation Authority) is drifting into group insurance products. Providers of group insurance products now must provide a more ‘consumer-level’ service experience to individuals on group schemes as it relates to advice and avenues to raise complaints. While this is arguably good for the consumer, the administrative and process burdens related to complying is causing insurers to re-think their group product offerings more generally.
Pleasingly, we also found that ‘corporate group insurance’ (group insurances not provided by super funds) is still very much a thing, and Australian insurers face the same service and efficiency challenges we see in other markets. So, there is need for what we provide.
Insurtech Australia did an excellent job with the event, attracting 250 attendees. The Australia insurtech community is very welcoming to us Kiwis. No doubt there will be opportunities for Insurtech NZ and Insurtech Australia to collaborate on international market development activities.
