The Swiss insurance company and ICMIF member la Mobilière is setting up an insurtech company headquartered in Dublin. This move is intended to expand its presence into digital add-on insurance across EU markets. That will enable the cooperative la Mobilière to test out a new business model ahead of time, with a view to sustaining its development and positioning itself for long-term business success.
The ongoing digital transformation we are seeing today is having an enduring impact on consumer behaviour, including in insurance. In today’s world, la Mobilière says, people need to be able to arrange cover simply, rapidly and for short periods, such as for travel or leisure activities. For example, customers can purchase add-on insurance to cover themselves against the consequences of a delay to a connecting flight.
Insurance now fully digitalised
La Mobilière intends to play a part in this new market for digital add-on insurance across Europe. To achieve this goal, it is establishing an autonomous company in Dublin. Subject to regulatory approval, it is planned that Matthias Naumann, a long-serving Senior Partner and Managing Director at Boston Consulting Group (BCG), will manage the business after the establishment phase, and Patrick Manley, previously head of the EMEA region at Zurich Insurance, will lead the supervisory body of the entity.
La Mobilière has chosen Ireland as a business location for several reasons, most notably stable political conditions, its English-speaking regulatory authority experienced in cross-border operations and its highly qualified workforce.
The EU, an attractive market with 500 million customers
From the second half of 2020 onwards, the new business will begin to offer fully digital, white-labelled add-on insurance solutions for partner companies and their products in the European Union. The add-on insurance business is highly volume-driven, which is why la Mobilière has decided to focus on the European Union, an attractive market for them with 500 million customers. “It is crucial for la Mobilière to test out new business models ahead of time to underpin its continued development and position itself for long-term business success,” commented Markus Hongler, CEO of la Mobilière.
