Insurance as an Enabler: Why Services, Not Policies, Will Define the Next Era of Our Industry
There is a belief I have carried with me throughout my entire career in insurance. A belief that has shaped how I lead, how I design products, and how I understand the responsibility that sits quietly beneath our daily business:
Insurance is not just another industry. It is the invisible platform that allows every other industry to move forward.
When we do our work well, people feel safe enough to take risks. Entrepreneurs dare to build. Companies grow. Families plan. Society's progress.
When we do our work poorly or too narrowly, the opposite happens: hesitation replaces ambition.
But the longer I reflect on this industry, the more convinced I become of something deeper:
Insurance fulfills its societal role only when it moves from “coverage” to “service.”
Coverage absorbs risk. Service creates confidence.
Coverage protects. Service empowers.
Policies may settle claims. But services change lives and create long-term trust.
The Moment Insurance Became “Present”
One example from early in my work still resonates with me. A car insurance company in the United States built its entire value proposition around a deceptively simple promise:
“Wherever you are, whatever happens, we will be there within 20 minutes.”
It wasn’t positioned as a technical guarantee or a marketing trick. It was framed as a form of presence. A commitment that the client would never be abandoned on the side of the road, literally and figuratively. The impact was immediate. Agents used it as a tangible argument when selling policies: “You are not alone. We come to you, fast.” But the most powerful effect wasn’t during the sale. It was at the scene of the accident. Two cars collide. One driver is insured with this company. The other is not. Guess whose help arrives first? At that moment, simple, concrete, human became the company’s true advertising. Not a billboard, not a slogan, but a lived experience.
People switched insurers because they witnessed real service in the moment they needed it most. Competitors eventually copied the idea, of course. But the lesson endures:
When insurers offer timely, human-centric services, they transcend the commodity trap. They become meaningful.
And meaning is a rare currency in our industry.
Health Insurance: Where Service Extends Into Life Itself
Nowhere is the need for service more urgent than in health insurance. Health is emotional.
It is intimate. It defines how a person feels, works, and moves through the world. For that reason, health insurance is no longer just about reimbursing costs. Clients expect information, guidance, prevention, and support, ideally all in one place.
One insurer I worked with understood this early. Instead of building yet another closed ecosystem, they created an open health platform. A single, secure digital space where people could store their medical history, not only the data generated by the insurer, but also information from doctors, hospitals, and even external providers. It was an act of humility, in a way.
It required accepting that the insurer was not the center of the client’s health life, only a contributor. But this humility made the system more valuable. Clients appreciated it because the app served their lives, not the insurer’s KPIs. And in a subtle way, the insurer reframed its relationship with clients:
from payer → to partner
from coverage → to ecosystem
from risk → to care
That shift is the future of our industry.
The Hidden Complexity of Prevention
There is a sentence we repeat so often in insurance that it has become almost a mantra: “Prevention reduces cost.”
It sounds logical. It is sometimes true. But the full picture is more complicated and far more interesting. Encouraging clients to exercise more is good. But more exercise inevitably brings more sprained ankles, more cycling accidents, more running injuries. Life becomes healthier but also statistically riskier. So prevention is not a magical cost-reduction tool. It is a value reshaping mechanism.
When an insurer builds prevention into the value chain, it affects:
The type of clients acquired,
The segmentation models,
The pricing logic,
The claims patterns,
The long-term health outcomes, and
The emotional relationship between insurer and client.
Prevention changes the very fabric of insurance. This is why it cannot be offered as a marketing add-on. It must be integrated into underwriting, pricing, and claims philosophy. It demands coherence over years, not campaigns over months. True service always comes with operational responsibility.
Employers: The Overlooked Force in the Health Ecosystem
When we talk about insurance clients, we often picture individuals. But in many markets, corporations are the beating heart of the health ecosystem.
They invest in prevention for their employees and families.
They build wellness programs.
They encourage healthy habits.
They subsidize coverage.
Yet their needs remain unique and often underserved.
They require two types of service:
A voluntary, human-centered experience for employees
Something that invites participation, not something imposed through obligation.
Tools that feel meaningful rather than paternalistic.Clear and actionable insights for HR and finance
A way to measure outcomes.
To understand whether prevention investments provide relief on claims and premiums.
To communicate these efforts internally so employees see and appreciate what their employer is doing for them.
This communication is often missing. But it matters greatly. Recognition strengthens trust inside the organization. And trust amplifies the impact of prevention efforts.
Why InsurTech Matters More Than Ever
No insurer, regardless of size, can build every service alone. Technology accelerates. Expectations evolve. And the ecosystem becomes more complex every year. This is why InsurTech is not merely a trend. It is a structural transformation.
Some InsurTech companies offer adjacent services.
Some build entirely new digital layers that sit on top of traditional insurance.
Some create diagnostic tools, prevention modules, wellness platforms, or claims automation systems.
Some will eventually become insurers themselves. This is almost inevitable.
The insurers that will thrive are those that:
Partner early,
Experiment openly,
Buy selectively,
And integrate these services into a coherent client journey.
The passive players, the ones who wait for the market to stabilize, risk becoming invisible. And invisibility, in insurance, is another word for commoditization.
The Risk of Becoming Only a Risk Carrier
This is the danger that keeps me intellectually alert. If insurers fail to evolve, they may be reduced to a narrow role: the balance sheet behind the scenes, the silent risk carrier, the back-office component of someone else’s experience.
In a world of AI, platforms, and digital ecosystems, that role can easily be replaced or simply absorbed into a larger structure.
The companies that want to remain relevant must do the opposite:
They must occupy the space closest to the client’s needs, emotions, and daily life.
That space is built through service, not coverage.
Coverage is necessary. Service is differentiating.
Coverage settles claims. Service builds relationships.
Where the Industry Goes From Here
As I look at the next decade, one question feels decisive. Not technical, not regulatory, not even actuarial, but philosophical:
Do we want to merely protect risk? Or do we want to support life?
The answer defines the kind of insurers we become. It determines whether we remain an invisible financial mechanism… or a meaningful actor in society. Because when insurance is reduced to pricing, underwriting, and claims ratios, it loses its soul.
When it is expanded into service, support, prevention, and presence, it regains its original purpose: giving people and organizations the confidence to move forward.
In a world filled with uncertainty, that role is not just valuable; it is essential. Service is not a trend. It is not a product extension. It is the evolution of our industry and perhaps its most human expression.
François Jacquemin
P.S.: Want to watch the video version of this article? Go to https://www.francoisjacquemin.com/covered/insurance-as-an-enabler-why-services-matter-as-much-as-coverage