Friendsurance

Next up was a case study discussion with the founder of Friendsurance

Friendsurance is insurance as a social business. With standard insurance, much of cost of premium goes into administration and marketing.
With Friendsurance you insure each other, anything exceeding what can be afforded by the peer network goes to traditional insurance company. Much lower admin, marketing and small claims costs.
First viral product in financial sector.
Very old traditional product been modernised by use of modern technology including social networks.

Innovation very important to them, especially for improving the customer experience.
Innovation should not be used to make things easier for us, but should always be done to make things easier for the customer.

The user guides everything about how they operate.
Use hackathons and disruptive ideas to innovate. Sometimes developers will say something will take 4/5 months. Intern in a hackathon solves it in 2/3 days. Doesn't matter that it was an intern not a developer.

Have to partner with traditional insurance companies, but very difficult. Different timescales. Friendsurance does all the magic! Don't use the IT departments form the insurance companies, they are too traditional. Friendsurance employ people who think differently.
Makes use of customers' existing social networks including Google Plus, LinkedIn, Facebook.

Interesting example of a start up company using a different way of working (although wasn't Lloyds originally friends?)



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