EP 23 - Turning Digital Data into Real Community Engagement
For years, digital transformation in insurance has been centered on efficiency, involving the automation of processes, simplification of distribution, and the creation of smoother customer journeys. But perhaps we’ve missed something more fundamental. The true opportunity of digital isn’t in automation, it’s in connection.
In this Episode:
How insurance can evolve from digital distribution to fan-driven communities. Insights from Francois Jacquemin and Neil Wirasinha on value creation, brand engagement, and the next phase of digital transformation.
In this conversation with Neil Wirasinha, we explored how industries like entertainment have evolved from transactional models to community-driven ecosystems, and what that might mean for insurers.
The Experiment of Digital.
Digital channels in insurance have been treated as laboratories for experimentation. They attract investment, innovation, and data. But the insight that often gets overlooked is that these digital experiments don’t exist in isolation. What happens in the digital space reveals how customers think, how they behave, and what they truly value. That information should guide not just marketing, but the entire organization.
Lessons from Streaming Giants.
As Neil pointed out, the entertainment industry offers a fascinating parallel. Giants like Netflix or Disney+ began by scaling access. But real value now comes from identity and belonging.
Platforms like Crunchyroll have transformed fandom into a business strategy. They connect people who share a passion, and in doing so, they create not just customers but communities. These audiences don’t just subscribe; they participate. They buy, share, and celebrate together.
It’s a model based on emotion, not just efficiency.
The Power of Community in Insurance.
The same shift is happening, or could happen, in insurance. Consider Vitality, which connects coverage to lifestyle. It rewards members for healthy behavior, turning prevention into participation. The result is not only lower claims costs but a sense of shared purpose.
Or take the example of insurance brands that sponsor sports teams. That isn’t just marketing. It’s about anchoring the brand in a local identity, creating emotional equity that extends far beyond a policy document.
When people feel part of a community, they act differently. They stay longer, they recommend more, and they forgive more.
Moving from Coverage to Belonging.
In the entertainment world, fans aren’t all the same. New fans amplify growth; old fans sustain it. The same dynamic applies to insurance. New members bring energy and advocacy. Long-term customers bring stability. Both are essential, but they require different forms of engagement.
The insurers who succeed in the next decade will be those who understand this shift. They won’t just distribute policies through digital channels. They will build ecosystems where customers belong.
As I see it, the challenge is no longer technological. It’s cultural. We must move from designing systems for transactions to designing experiences for participation.
And that’s where real value creation begins.
Timecode:
00:00 Introduction to Digital Channels in Insurance
00:59 The Role of Consumer Needs in Digitalization
01:07 Emerging Trends in Entertainment and Streaming
02:08 The Power of Niche Platforms and Communities
03:28 Fan Engagement and Monetization
04:36 Community Building in Insurance
05:56 Gamification in Healthcare and Insurance
06:47 Branding and Content Strategy in Entertainment
08:07 Challenges and Adaptations in the Entertainment Industry
08:27 Conclusion and Final Thoughts
Francois Links:
Apple Podcast
Guest:
Neil Wirasinha: https://www.linkedin.com/in/neilwirasinha
Transcript:
Francois: one very important, experiment area. for insurance is, uh, the digital channel.
So you just go and you experiment. And because there's so much money that's poured into, Uh, digitalization and, uh, and AI is that, uh, this is where the fun is part, And you don't only work for your own digital channel, but it's also data and value that is brought to the whole company. Because if it's not working digitally or the feedback is in a certain way. Then you can have already a piece of information on why how the product will be working for the independent distribution, like the, uh, cinema chains Yeah. Or the, the uh, Netflix channels like the, the agencies and. That I find very interesting and, and it's usually built in the organization.
Neil: Yeah. It's, it, it, I mean, it's all driven by a consumer's need, right? And, uh, and people are parting with their money for that consumer need. I think there's a lot of parallels, right? So if we look at the Giants, you've got Netflix, you've got Amazon, um, and then you've got the movie studios, and of course you've got the streaming services like, you know, Disney Plus and uh, HBO, et cetera. But there's, but when you are a leader, right, you are, you are always there, there always comes a point, a tipping point in time that you are the leader. So you, you're not gonna get everything right? Yeah. And you're gonna leave some, and the cracks will appear because somebody's gonna feel underserved. And, and you see it already in the entertainment game that you've got some growth businesses that are growing incredibly. Quick paces, uh, companies like Mobi, which is much more art house. Um, but they also hold films that you really, you know, from the eighties. And the catalog is really, really well curated content. Um, and it, and it, and it starts to identify with you as this is really a place I want to hang out, because it just feels very tailored. And at the same time, you've got platforms like. Crunchyroll, which is Japanese anime, that act actually have a brilliant business model in how they take the entertainment vertical and move it not just about, you know, be a subscriber, but actually you can see our content and watch these ads. And you can also buy the merchandise through a, you know, through through their interface. And for, for, for an audience like the anime audience, it is the most powerful thing that finally our community has come together. We've created something in this environment that we can all celebrate and, and okay, it won't be perfect, but it's pretty damn good. So these really unique players are starting to become far more engaging, far more powerful, and that's pretty exciting. Um, and I think there's, and there's a premium attached to that. If you are serving an underserved need and it finally resonates, then I think there's always gonna be an opportunity that people will go. It's a shakeout period. The movie industry has had it. The, when you look at the streamers, they're not all gonna be there because
Francois: isn't that lady gag, lady Gagas model?She created her own, you know, multimillion subscriber community that is just for her and then everything's happening there And exchange as well. So the, the community element, I find that super, super interesting and important.
Neil: Oh, massively So. I mean, anything around the arts needs to have fans and it's quite funny 'cause when you look at communities and you look at fans, everybody thinks that, uh, that a fan, every fan is exactly the same.So I've been a fan since 2003 and it's really when, when you work on a, when you understand what Fanship really is, it's really exciting because actually you monetize the new fans more than you monetize the old fans, the old fans. They've had a relationship for 10 years with your content or whatever that might be, or that world or that experience.The new fans that are relatively new to it, it's like when you meet or you go to a new restaurant and you become a fan of that restaurant, and it might have been around for a while, but you are going, oh, it's amazing. And everybody you meet, you tell them it's amazing. So the power of that new fan actually is bigger than the old fan because they amplify the noise.
Francois: Yeah.But you, When you become a new fan, you forget about your old restaurant where you are going to because you, you know, at some point, you have to choose to choose.
Neil: right? Yeah.
Francois: So, uh, that, that's a danger. It's, it's something big insurance group do. So community. So there's the, uh, the local community there is, uh, I mean Munich, there's a big
insurance group. they have a stadium. I mean they, or they sponsor the stadium of the biggest German club.Right. And, um, that's a magnitude of the, the name recognition of course, in number one, insurance branded world, but it's it's, it's like, it's also community. You know, it's, it's close to the people The people of the town,of the, the region.They're proud of that club. They, you know, it's like sold out every game and even more than that. So it's, it's,it's part of, it's, it's,
part of the community.and if you're part of that, if you create that, that, that, that ability,at uh, uh, you know, at a scale which is extremely broad, so not only in one region or country, but multi-country created a community maybe per segment.You know, Our movie fans would just go into that, that segment. So, so you also have the, uh, Star Wars fans that they all, you know, they, they, you know, they have tattoos and, you know, but it belongs. So, so it's, you belong to a community,and, uh. The health part there. There's all those, uh, there, there's a South African that's not anymore south African.I think it's vitality. They, they, they've established basically a,
a totally different model working on prevention. So it's not only about, uh, being covered in insurance, but it's being part of the community of those people who go to that gym under that program. And they have the coverage, they have the same coverage, but it's, it's much bigger than just the, the, the, the, the the, the insurance element. It's, and there's a sense of belonging. There's gamification, There's plenty of things that, that,are part of that. I guess it's joins a bit this
Neil: does, it does. But I find that fascinating, right? That that insurance and healthcare. Can gamify things and, and my healthcare provider is exactly that. You know, if I do x many workouts, then my premium is reduced. And I also get benefits for healthy shopping. I mean, the amount of data points that my insurer has on me is, is, is probably more than most. Um, and it's exciting. The movie industry and, and entertainment, it's kind of different because when you look at the brands that are out there, so if you look at Netflix, it's kind of a cultural brand. If you look at, you know, if you, you know, we are both parents and when our children were younger, you would probably say, oh, there's a Disney movie. Or they would say, oh, and Disney comes with somewhat of a, a brand guarantee of wholesome family entertainment. It's about the only studio that has it because you don't really go, oh, there's a great universal movie, or there's a great Warner Brothers movie, or There's a great this, yeah, they are.And, but Disney is the only one that's managed to do that
Francois: because we were it's been there such a long time.
Neil: formed very early. They have the, they have the theme parks. Of course Universal has its theme parks too, but it's a full manifestation of it. I mean, Disney has its stores or had its stores. They, you know, they've obviously been moved back into more digital buyers than bricks and mortar, but it's one of those brands that is, is, is known and, and to a degree, trusted, albeit some of the content that, that they produce.Now, you would kind of argue that it's not really on brand, but that's the pressure of needing to have enough content for audience types, um, that, that, that you have to persevere with. So there's so, so they, they've had to adapt as they go and they've sort of, in a way segmented communication so they can still protect the brand that is known and trusted, but also tell enough stories that your Disney, your Disney lifecycle, when you get to 18, you stop becoming a Disney fan.Actually, they can work out a way of engaging with you continually.
Francois: Yeah, we're back on it.
Neil: Yeah,
Francois: Sothere, there, there's things for the whole family. I mean, so usually it's family, but there's still things, PG 16, all things
Neil: Oh. absolutely. Absolutely. You know, they, they will always work out. When I was a kid, if you were 13 and you wanted to go and see the better movies, which were normally aged 15, you had to try and remember the birth date that you had agreed with your friends outside.You weren't really asked for Id often, and then there would be a lady in the ticket office. Yeah. Typically a lady in the typical ticket office that, that felt like she could have been somebody that works at your school and you would ha and, and they would just look at you and give you the stare of,that makes you 45 because you've forgotten the birth date that you would agreed outside.But there are, there are, there are lots of things in
Francois: Don't do that in insurance. though. You know, they're not,
Neil: I think that would invalidate probably the policy
Francois: Yeah. Yeah.
Neil: But it still happens. I mean, kids are still buying, you know, he's, he is got a bit more sophisticated, but cinemas are so understaffed that you, that it's the things that I do as a 15-year-old, of course, they, as a 13-year-old still happen.You can't get into the, the, the higher rated movies. You go buy a ticket for the lower rated film. Men know that it's roughly the same time and you watch 20 minutes and slide into the other cinema.