The role of super apps in providing financial resilience, protection and peace of mind to customers

Our Co-Founder and CEO, Angus McDonald, recently wrote a piece for The Connected Economy’s Power Source eBook discussing the emergence of Super Apps in a digitally centered universe and its role in providing seamless integration of insurance.

With the rise in data sharing, companies across all industries stand to benefit from using these insights to create better customer experiences and products refined specifically for changing consumer needs. As an insurtech, Cover Genius is especially attuned to innovation and using a tech-first approach to solve complex customer problems. Adapting quickly to the needs of customers is something that traditional models held back by slow legacy processes struggle to do.

From working with our large network of partners across every industry, Angus points out that “FinTechs are extending their powerful brands and massive audiences and setting new standards for eCommerce’s customer experience and growth potential.” In this piece Angus wonders whether banks will fall into the trap of traditional models being outpaced by insurtechs. Or whether they can take advantage of the boom in technological innovation to capture increased market share in the same way that FinTechs and e-commerce retailers have. 

Growing innovation has meant the emergence of “super apps”, where customers have access to multiple products and services from one place. “With their extended capabilities, super apps allow customers to purchase products, book appointments and access services — all within a single platform.” 

This is already in play for some of the biggest brands worldwide, says Angus: “We’ve seen WeChat’s dominance and Grab’s emergence, but industry folk are also closely observing decacorns across the globe. For example, Paytm, Flipkart and Ola in India; Klarna and Revolut in Europe; and PayPal, Chime, Affirm, Afterpay and Quadpay in the US. In Asia, Line, Kakao, Lazada and Shopee hold market share, while Ant dominates Chinese banks. And services like Rappi in LatAm and Careem in the Middle East are expanding well beyond ride-hailing and food delivery.”

Super apps have the unique advantage of collecting a full picture when it comes to consumer behaviors and this data is instrumental in creating a “personalized and profitable experience for customers and brands alike.” Brands that are able to harness such insights have a leg up when it comes to sending relevant offers to increase AOV, with offering protection a large part of that. “Rising super apps can provide greater value by building seamless integrations of warranties and insurance, powered by customer insights and APIs. In doing so, they build loyalty, engagement and share of wallet.”

Angus states that “Consumers’ desire for point-of-sale protection will be at an all-time high in a post-pandemic world. With embedded insurance tied to super app activities, customers’ needs are better met, and an additional revenue stream opens up.” It’s no wonder the likes of Amazon and Walmart have moved into this space. 

This is a pivotal point for banks that want to keep pace with the tech set. Angus suggests that in order not to be left behind banks need to embrace a customer centric mindset and offer their customers relevant protection products that suit them, at the right time and place – directly in their purchase path. As Angus says, “Assuming they can relieve themselves of the pandemic impacted burdens of branch networks while leveraging the API economy to update their core banking software, there’s a great opportunity here to pivot from brick and mortar to high-engagement digital utilities centered around personal finance themes like literacy, life event planning and asset protection.”