Embedded insurance to close the health protection gap

More affordable and accessible health and life insurance and better business outcomes – there are high expectations for embedded health. Embedded health enables healthcare players, insurers and non-healthcare companies to offer a wide range of digital services, including health, fitness, wellness, finance, and insurance services, all integrated into one single platform-led engagement and one tailored user experience.

There are many challenges in developing new tailored health insurance  services. In our two-part podcast series Yannick Even, Global Analytics Business Partner Swiss Re, discusses with two proven experts how to realise the huge potential of embedded health applied to health or life insurance: With Sabine VanderLinden, Managing Partner & CEO Alchemy Crew – also known as "Insurtech Queen", and Sebastien Gaudin, cofounder, and CEO of The CareVoice, a health insurtech that focuses on making insurance more human with health at its core while using technology.

The exclusive market data speaks for itself: In the last ten years USD 32 billion have been invested in embedded finance start-ups including insurance and healthcare start-ups. While it was USD 9 billion last year, this year it was already USD 10 billion. Embedded finance is the only fintech area with stable growth, fintech and insurtech in general are decreasing. Corporates, investors and start-ups see opportunities in embedded across different markets. Our three experts discuss how health services can be inserted in tailored non-health offerings to better engage with various customers groups at digital touch points. Hear how this enables insurers' risk insights for entry into new risk pools that were previously under supported – an important step towards closing the health protection gap. 

In the beginning embedded health insurance was all about sales and distribution – but people pushed back, says Sabine VanderLinden. Embedded health insurance only succeeds as part of an ecosystem. Yannick Even agrees, embedded will not work to push existing products. Products need to be adapted and for this an important mindset change for insurers is needed. Insurers should see customers not as theirs only, but as customers of the a holistic health ecosystem. "In China the ecosystem approach is everywhere, and adaptation is very fast", states Sebastien Gaudin. He grew his start-up The CareVoice in China and shares his learnings.