Open Insurance to bolster embedded efforts following So-Sure acquisition

Australian firm Open Insurance is aiming to support the growth of embedded insurance in the UK, following its acquisition of UK-based MGA So-Sure last week (15 March 2024). 

That was according to Jason Wilby, co-founder of Open Insurance, who told Insurance Times that embedded insurance could improve customer complaint volumes for the insurance sector.

Despite progress on digital transformation, managing policies and claims online remains challenging for customers, with Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) figures from last year (11 October 2023) showing that 24,496 general insurance and pure protection complaints were made during H1 2023, up from 19,346 in H2 2022.

The regulator highlighted that this was partly due to insurers delaying paying out on claims and that it was “unacceptable” where complaints were driven due to this.

Wilby explained that this was where embedded insurance could improve the situation by integrating more seamlessly with other products and presenting an opportunity for further innovation.

He explained: “We build technology to enable great customer experiences, end-to-end from quote to claim, and it’s quite product agnostic.

“We want to focus on core technology, so that we can [for example,] make it possible for someone to purchase their car insurance while they’re signing [another insurance policy].”

MGA acquisition

Embedded insurance is a way for businesses to include insurance policies as an add-on to sales journeys.

Open Insurance focuses on embedded insurance and partners with brands such as Bupa and Polestar to deliver embedded car, home, travel and landlord insurance.

Wilby further explained that that Open Insurance’s business model was to develop core technology and deploy it via its “wholly owned MGAs”.

Following the acquisition of mobile phone and contents insurance specialist So-Sure, Wilby said he was “looking forward to working together with the team and So-Sure’s partners to deliver market-leading embedded insurance in the UK and Europe”. 

Wilby said the acquisition would see Open leverage the acquired MGA’s products to bolster its embedded insurance proposition and begin growing across the UK.

“Acquiring an MGA in the UK perfectly aligns with our strategy and operational approach,” he added.

“By leveraging a team that understands local market dynamics and integrating them with our technology, we can grow the business and enhance our mission of creating the best insurance experiences globally.”