The insurance industry has made huge progress over the past decade when it comes to embracing digital channels. But as Quentin Colmant, CEO & Co-founder of Qover, put it at Insurtech Insights Europe 2025:

‘Omnichannel is multichannel by definition, but where you can switch between any channel seamlessly and in a totally invisible way. It really depends the customer. I actually prefer to think of it as “omniexperience”.’

In the panel ‘Beyond Multichannel – Strategies for Orchestrating the Ultimate Omnichannel Experience in Insurance’,  Quentin joined experts from HDI Embedded, Allianz Partners, Sefas Innovation and The Marketing Detective Agency to unpack what it really takes to deliver on the omnichannel promise – and why the industry needs to stop thinking in terms of systems, and start thinking in terms of people.

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The road from digital to multichannel to omnichannel is a long one

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More and more insurers today offer digital and offline touchpoints. But the problem is that they remain fragmented – each channel designed, operated and tracked in isolation. 

‘The transition to pure omnichannel is challenging. There’s challenges with multichannel when it comes to siloed data stacks, and it creates a fractured customer journey. The problem with large organisations is keeping business as usual while trying to move to omnichannel.’ – Karen Peters, Head of Insurance and Financial Services Markets at Sefas Innovation

Omniexperience means making the channel invisible. A customer should be able to start a quote online, finish it on the phone and track their claim in an app – without repeating themselves or wondering who to call.

Karen added: ‘It should always be the consumer’s channel of choice – not the insurer. And some companies fail on that approach. It all comes down to how customer data is managed.’

It’s just as much about the customer-facing journey as it is about internal systems being connected and having the right data flows to make it happen.

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The real blocker is more than just tech: it’s a mindset

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While legacy systems are often blamed for the slow shift to omnichannel, several speakers made it clear: the issue is deeper than infrastructure.

‘We’ve made a lot of progress in the insurance industry switching from an inside-out view – what products we offer and on which channels – to an outside-in view’, said Ivan Fazzari Sales Director - Financial Institutions at Allianz Partners. ‘The paradigm has shifted. You think about the ideal customer journey, and it’s not about switching in and out of channels, but having one seamless experience.’

Quentin echoed this sentiment, highlighting how risk carriers often operate with robust but fragmented systems, with separate platforms for policy administration, claims and payments.

‘You can’t build seamless journeys on disconnected systems,’ he said. ‘You either build a new solution from scratch – which is costly and complex – or you create an orchestration layer that connects these systems via API and puts the customer at the centre.’

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See how car makers are tackling omnichannel in their strategies →

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Orchestration is the latest must-have capability

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Rather than rip out existing systems, forward-thinking insurers are turning to tech enablers and orchestration partners to bridge gaps across the insurance lifecycle. 

Whether through APIs, white-label platforms or tech layers, orchestration enables:

• Insurance data to flow between departments, partners and customer-facing interfaces, creating a real-time feedback loop
• Embedded insurance journeys across ecosystems and countries (e.g. mobility, banking, ecommerce)
• Human-first design, where the journey – not the system – dictates how the experience is delivered
  
  

Embedded insurance has complex flows from quote to claim to payment. ‘Omnichannel can orchestrate these flows and put the customer in the middle of that. There are so many pain points that can be solved with omnichannel and it’s really about how you can transfer the customer between offline and online seamlessly and without any friction.’ – Nelson Castellanos, Chief Partnerships Officer at HDI Embedded

But it’s not just about the start of the journey. As Ivan Fazzari pointed out:

‘We all think about the customer journey in the acquisition phase, but it’s much more important that we offer that experience when they’re experiencing our services, such as assistance and claims. It’s about the technology – how we are able to integrate those elements – but also the right decision making so we can offer the right channel in the right moment of need.’

This is where AI in insurance becomes especially relevant – not just as a back-end tool, but as a real-time enabler of seamless, personalised service. 

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Read how digital orchestration is reshaping insurance → 

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Customer experience in insurance starts with people, not platforms

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As the discussion drew to a close, all panellists agreed: customer-centricity isn’t just a buzzword, it’s a competitive advantage.

‘Put the customer at the heart of your business, not the other way around,’ Karen stressed. ‘It’s not the easiest thing to achieve, but if you’re going to retain and grow your customer in a very competitive market, it has to be addressed.’

And as Quentin noted, omniexperience isn’t just a design challenge. It’s a strategic imperative.

‘You need to kill the silos. You need standardised data, tech and information along the value chain, countries and systems. That information should feed back to business partners to ultimately improve the customer experience for end customers.’

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Ready to build invisible insurance journeys around your customers? Get in touch with our team.

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