Personal property insurance covers the loss of or damage to the things we own – furniture, clothing and even electronics, for example. Now, a compelling addition to the traditional premium insurance bundle is the protection of our personal digital content saved on private electronic devices. Consumers want peace of mind that in the event of a stolen laptop or a damaged hard-drive, their emotionally significant digital possessions – an irreplaceable archive of family photos, for instance – will remain protected and secure. This is why consumers continually back-up and store their data in the cloud. Doing so provides the reassurance they need that their precious personal content is safe and available anytime, anywhere.
In a recent Insurance Innovation Reporter article, I had the opportunity to explain the opportunity that insurance providers have today: As the already long-established and trusted guardians of tangible assets, the next logical stage of their evolution is to become the protectors of their customer’s most cherished electronic data. With research from management consultancy Arthur D. Little highlighting the projected growth of the personal cloud market over the next four years, I’ve no doubt that now is the perfect time for savvy insurers to grab a share of the personal cloud pie.
Why? Several trends have converged making it the right time for insurance companies to expand their role and deliver an improved customer experience:
1. Consumer expectations. Insurance providers are already known as the trusted guardians of physical possessions, so adding digital data protection to the list is simply the logical evolution of their current role.
2. Internet platform provider changes. We anticipate a decline in the dominance of over-the-top (OTT) personal cloud platforms such as iCloud, Amazon Drive and Google Drive In June, for example, Google introduced usage limits on its freemium subscription model. A portion of unhappy former Google personal cloud users will be looking for a new place to protect their data. This presents a serious opportunity for insurers.
3. 5G network availability. The rise of 5G will further simplify the process of archiving to and consuming content from a private cloud through its increased through-put and low latency capabilities.
Clearly, insurance companies have a role to play when it comes to protecting consumer’s digital assets. The integration of personal cloud into premium insurance bundles benefits consumers as it provides them with a simple to manage, all-in-one insurance plan. It also strengthens the relationship insurers have with their customer base. How? By enabling a natural symbiosis between consumers who want an all-in-one insurance plan inclusive of all their most valued digital possessions and an insurer that wants to add incremental revenue over time and nurture its existing customer relationships.
To learn more about why insurers are uniquely positioned to deliver personal cloud solutions to their customers, I invite you to read the full article Personal Cloud: Protecting the Entire Customer Relationship. Also, visit our Personal Cloud for Insurance Providers webpage to discover how the offering can strengthen the insurance value proposition, reduce churn and increase renewals, subscriber value, provide an engaging subscriber experience, and deliver new revenue streams.
