Over the last 10 years, when MAIF (France) discussed innovation, they focused on the digital revolution. However, the real revolutions are the impact and the climate revolutions; and also how technology is going to serve these revolutions. It is important for MAIF not to “invent for inventions sake” so they examined what they had learnt over the last 10 years and tried to implement innovation principles in a concept they call “hybridization”: mixing the DNA of MAIF with the DNA of its partners. MAIF has been working with partner companies – often businesses that are not insurance companies, such as start-ups – to help their transformation and address the needs of their customers.
One example of this is MAIF’s work with bike couriers. There has been an explosion in digital platforms and social dumping, for instance food delivery people on bikes and scooters. These services are so efficient, many don’t stop to consider if the people delivering the products are earning a proper wage or if they are safe. The number of delivery companies using bikes has risen by 400% in France. Delivery bikes have significantly less carbon emissions than cars. MAIF wanted to support this by working with a partner to create a pyramid of aspiration, which is broken down into function, emotion, life changing, and social impact values to aid them in their purpose.
They worked with a small courier company and created a non-life insurance programme for the couriers. Following this, they looked for a cooperative partner and found CoopCycle who supply 70 independent couriers in 70 cities with the digital infrastructure needed to link up to local restaurants. MAIF and CoopCycle signed a partnership so new couriers that joined CoopCycle were able to benefit from MAIF’s offering. This product offering is based on MAIF’s purpose, to export their principles as an insurance business to be able to sell insurance products with partners they have selected carefully. MAIF now has 12 partners in total.
The days of calling up your insurance company are in the past and so new interfaces have to be found. In response to this, MAIF has developed insurance-as-a-service, making insurance available quicky, pooling costs with their partners. They have developed an API portal with their partners, which allows them to know which APIs are accessible to help them develop business, simulate tariffs and produce quotes.
Over the course of their journey, MAIF have stuck to their DNA and developed their core business and their insurance products, in a way that is in keeping with customer’s needs. They protect their core business by overseeing new products in business incubators and are permanently transforming the group and the value chain simultaneously. Their next step is to go reach the top of their aspirations pyramid and find the right partners to develop relationships with.
