OneFamily is a customer-centric organisation thats purpose is to serve the underserved in the UK market. They offer investment, life insurance, and equity release products and have a long-term relationship with their customers. OneFamily prides itself on customer service and aims to answer calls within one minute. They see technology as a tool that can enable them to bring behavioural science and emotional intelligence data to the fore and capitalise on it in a unique way.
People are living longer lives causing a shift in wealth. Financial wellbeing is being pushed back to individuals, disadvantaging those who rely on the welfare system. There is a heavy concentration on the middle class in UK financial services, serving the top 20% and leaving a large proportion of the market who are underserved. Mutuals hold a special place in financial services, and OneFamily sees this as an opportunity to serve those that others cannot (or do not want to) serve with the advantage of having patient capital, enabling them to take longer-term decisions.
The customer is taking centre stage, and access to technology is changing how organisations interact with them. Behavioural science links into technology, and the skills once perceived to be in the gift of academia, governments, and commerce, are now available to customers and members through low-cost technology.
Transparency and data sharing have transformed the market and the way value is created. Members do more research, and this is one of the most potent tools for democratising financial services. Consumers make more judgments than ever before, and the UK Pensions Dashboard enables consumers to have all their pension products on a single screen, comparing products they have and thematic products that others provide that they do not have.
OneFamily’s purpose as a mutual is not just to use technology and knowledge of the customer in a way that is ring-fenced around their products, but to be authentic and be the a voice of the customer. One example of how they have done this is Child Trust Fund lobbying.
In the late 2000, the UK Government offered each child born in the UK up to GBP 500. The government did not anticipate that, if by the time a child turned 18 they had an incapacity, the money in a Child Trust Fund could not be accessed. OneFamily estimated that 200,000 children would not be able to access their funds. They used this data and the position of being the voice of the customer to lobby the government, resulting in the ministry of justice issuing a consultation on small payments which would help these families to access their children’s accounts.
In each market segment they operate in, OneFamily has made the strategic decision to serve the whole market, not just the top end. There are cost issues with this, meaning they need to be more efficient and more digital. By concentrating on the underserved, they have found that they can deliver life-changing, financial wellbeing products.
The mutual does not look at the profitability of a customer from a single product, but the profitability of a relationship with that customer. Three years ago, OneFamily had products across multiple platforms which stretched their staff and forced products on customers that had been designed years ago, rather than adapting to customer needs. They have since implemented an ongoing modernisation programme to solve this, allowing them to engage with customers in a more efficient way.
While they have few touch points with their customers in terms of products, being a mutual gives them a lease to engage with their customers, creating greater empathy and also greater commercial drive because they are more likely to buy another product if they see the purpose of the organisation.
Their challenge now is to put purpose at the forefront. Looking ahead, OneFamily will use technology and behavioral science to inform their purpose and continue serving the underserved. The last decade has taught them that they need to understand their responsibilities, beyond the products they sell.
