bolttech: The Power of Ecosystems Delivering Digital Native Insurance in a Digital-First World

If we take a hard look at the general insurance market in Asia, it becomes clear that individuals are generally under-insured. Even today, insurance remains difficult to buy—many carriers have offline, complex, and even paper-based application requirements. Trust is a primary concern for many people as individuals are more likely to consider purchasing insurance, which is essentially a promise of future payment, from established institutions. Insurance is also rarely the foremost priority for most individuals–however, with today’s increasingly interconnected and digital-led lifestyles, there is an unprecedented opportunity to change this by educating individuals and leveraging technology to provide more seamless insurance experiences.

Launched in 2020, bolttech, an international insurtech business set out to change this narrative in a novel way. bolttech’s unique digital-first proposition is born out of its vision to connect people with more ways to protect the things they value–working seamlessly with a partner network of insurance carriers, banks, telcommunications and e-commerce players, and even ride-sharing and social media companies, enabling them to offer targeted and value-added protection solutions to their customers within their existing customers’ journeys.

“It’s a lot easier to consider device protection when you are buying a phone, or home insurance around the time you are purchasing a new house. Our digital platform is designed to play seamlessly into lifestyle decisions, complementing other transactions to offer a more holistic solution for our partners and their customers,” says Madhu Tadikonda, Group Chief Commercial Officer and President of the Americas, bolttech.

Leveraging bolttech’s digital-native infrastructure, partners are able to deliver 100 percent digital insurance shopping and comparison experiences with user interfaces that meet customer expectations by making the experience fast and easy, plugging into a wide range of products instantly. At the same time, partners earn additional income and customer loyalty through the addition of targeted insurance products.

“As a digital native, we believe the future of insurance is a future that’s designed around people’s lives, making things easier for customers, while multiplying opportunities for partners.

Our goal is to build a technology-enabled ecosystem that transforms the way protection and insurance is bought and sold,” Tadikonda adds. bolttech’s approach to building a digital ecosystem is not governed by one key technology or product, but rather pivots around the customer at its core. Tadikonda explains, “Our technology is built to ensure that we are nimble and able to act intuitively and as quickly as a startup.Leveraging our digital platform, we enable partners to tap on our cutting-edge solutions at speed and scale by plugging into multiple product provider and distributor platforms across our different lines of business.”

Embracing a data-led approach, bolttech deploys its technology and protection and insurance products in creative ways to meet particular customer needs. By forging strong in-market partnerships and working with innovative brands that share the same values and digital focus, the team is also constantly adapting to provide better digital experiences that resonate on a local level for customers. A snapshot of bolttech’s ecosystem in the Asia region includes Thailand’s Frank–a cutting-edge online direct broker for personal, motor and health coverage; a partnership with LINE Pay in Thailand, the country’s first integrated online/offline payment platform; and AmTrust Mobile Solutions (rebranded to bolttech in April), a leading mobile protection provider working with retailers, telecommunications and finance partners throughout Southeast Asia.

Part of the Pacific Century Group, bolttech leverages both the group and its sister company FWD’s extensive pan-Asian experience and network to multiply opportunities for its partners. Although the bolttech brand launched earlier this year, the company has already built a significant presence across Asia, North America and Europe, with operations established across 12 markets, 1,400 staff and serving more than 7.7 million customers.

Tadikonda mentions that while the COVID-19 crisis has created a leaner and more competitive business environment for insurtech players, bolttech continues its steep growth trajectory, forging new partnerships, launching new products and solutions, and expanding into new markets, despite the challenging environment. He reveals, “Our expansion efforts are aimed at amplifying our complementary capabilities across our device protection, insurtech, and digital insurance offerings. We operate with a startup mentality and are set up to move nimbly where we see partnerships with the potential to unlock new value for customers.”

With new partnerships in Asia, bolttech is all set to launch its device protection offerings in Singapore, Korea, Malaysia and Thailand in the coming months.