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In a nutshell
- Fintech has transformed the user experience by solving complex problems with smart design and technology – insurtech can do the same.
- Key strategies for better UX in insurtech include a customer-centric approach, leveraging technology, embracing agility and building ecosystem partnerships.
- Good UX is a competitive advantage, not an afterthought, leading to higher conversion rates, more accessible coverage and increased trust in insurance.
User experience (UX) in traditional financial services is often an afterthought – but it shouldn’t be.
Customers expect seamless, intuitive interactions, yet banks and payment providers struggle to balance UX with hurdles like fraud prevention, regulatory compliance, and legacy infrastructure.
This makes it difficult to balance providing a seamless user interface while ensuring compliance and profitability. Incumbents often use these challenges to justify a clunky or poor user interface, treating it as a nice-to-have rather than a competitive edge.
But fintechs are proving otherwise – showing that when you put user experience first, business results follow. They understand that a good UX isn’t just about aesthetics; it’s about solving complex problems with smart design and creative technology.
The result? Higher conversion rates, fewer support requests and stronger customer loyalty.
The same principles apply to UX in insurtech. Although insurance is also a heavily regulated industry, using customer-centric and data-driven thinking can allow us to balance regulatory compliance with the smooth UX that users expect – leading to tangible results and more trust in the insurance industry.
Here are 6 things insurtech can learn from fintech’s approach to user experience.
6 lessons from fintech: how UX in insurtech can improve
Over the past decade, fintechs have reshaped financial services – and its user experience – by focusing on six key levers:
- Customer obsession – solving real pain points
- Technology as an enabler – leveraging AI, automation and APIs
- Agility and data-driven innovation – moving fast and learning from users
- Ecosystem partnerships – integrating services seamlessly
- Access and inclusion – making financial products available to all
- Regulatory navigation – embracing compliance as a UX challenge
Insurtech can take the same approach to build better insurance experiences.
1. Customer obsession: solving real pain points
Fintechs disrupted traditional banking by putting customers at the heart of their business models. Instead of focusing on legacy constraints, they tackled inefficiencies, high costs and poor accessibility.
Take NuBank, which saw an opportunity in Brazil’s concentrated banking sector, where high fees and poor service left many unbanked. By offering an easy-to-use digital bank with low fees, it attracted millions of customers and earned an NPS of 90.
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Or Affirm, which reimagined credit. Instead of trapping users in hidden fees and high-interest debt, it built a transparent Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) model that prioritises financial wellbeing.
What insurtech can learn
The best fintechs succeed because their motivation goes beyond profit – they want to make life easier for their customers. This philosophy applies just as much to insurance.
Insurtech can follow suit by designing insurance products and services that are user-friendly, transparent and tailored to individual needs. By simplifying complex processes and eliminating bureaucratic hurdles, insurtechs can enhance customer satisfaction and loyalty.
Read more: 7 popular insurance products for banking apps →
2. Technology as an enabler
Fintechs use AI, blockchain and big data analysis to personalise services, reduce fraud and streamline transactions.
Pagaya, for example, built an AI-powered credit analysis system that identifies creditworthy customers overlooked by traditional scoring models. By integrating its system via an API, Pagaya enables its partners to offer loans and credit to more customers. This continuous-learning system helps lenders make better decisions while improving accessibility.
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What insurtech can learn
Similarly, technology like AI and APIs have transformed UX in insurtech. For example, both can speed up claims processes, from users submitting a claim in fewer steps to receiving quicker payouts.
What’s more, instead of static, one-size-fits-all policies, technology can enable dynamic pricing and tailored coverage for a better customer experience – ultimately making insurance more accessible, fair and efficient.
3. Agility and data-driven innovation
Fintechs thrive by moving fast, testing ideas and optimising based on real user feedback.
Monzo’s fraud prevention features, like secret QR codes and real-time employee verification, are great examples. These small UX improvements make security effortless while protecting customers from scams.
Ramp applies the same thinking to business finance, automating expense tracking and reducing admin work for users, showing how small UX improvements can have a significant impact.
What insurtech can learn
Insurance is complex, but that’s no excuse for a clunky user journey. Insurtechs should adopt the same test-and-learn approach to remove friction – whether it’s making claims filing effortless or simplifying policy management.
By being agile and harnessing the power of data, they can better understand customer behaviour, respond quickly and stay ahead of the competition.
4. Ecosystem partnerships: embedded, not separate
Fintechs understand the power of partnerships. By integrating with traditional banks, payment providers and other tech platforms, they create seamless financial ecosystems.
For example, NuBank partnered with Chubb to offer insurance, and Monzo partnered with us at Qover to embed protection into its payment cards.
These types of partnerships enable them to offer comprehensive products and services to improve their customer experience.
What insurtech can learn
UX in insurtech improves when insurance is seamlessly embedded into the customer journey, rather than feeling like an afterthought. By embedding protection at the point of need, insurtechs can make insurance more relevant, accessible and valuable.
To that end, insurtechs also benefit from forming alliances with insurance incumbents, tech companies and data providers. These collaborations can drive innovation, expand distribution channels and improve service offerings, ultimately delivering greater value to customers.
5. Access and inclusion
Fintechs have expanded financial access, bringing banking and credit services to both underserved and younger populations.
NuBank’s entire model was built on making financial services available to all. By offering digital-first banking with no hidden fees, it opened up access to millions who had been excluded from traditional banking.
What insurtech can learn
Insurance has the same opportunity. Microinsurance, usage-based policies, and embedded and on-demand coverage can make protection more widely accessible and increase financial resilience.
Whether it’s making it easier to purchase insurance for your electric scooter or embedding protection into a bank account, there are many ways that insurtechs can contribute to a global safety net of protection.
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6. Regulatory navigation: turning constraints into opportunities
Regulation is often seen as a roadblock to UX, but regulators aren’t trying to slow down or reduce the user experience – they’re trying to protect customers.
Fintechs have shown that working proactively with regulators can actually drive innovation.
Take Affirm, which built a reputation for good underwriting and responsible lending. Instead of resisting regulation in the emerging BNPL space, it embraced it – setting the standard for fair, transparent credit and showing the benefit of a quality user experience.
What insurtech can learn
Insurance, like banking, is a highly regulated industry. But compliance doesn’t have to mean poor UX. Insurtechs should take a similar approach, working closely with regulators to ensure compliance while fostering an environment conducive to innovation.
Clear and consistent regulations can help insurance companies build trust and grow their operations efficiently. Insurtechs that navigate regulation effectively can improve transparency and create frictionless user experiences.
Conclusion: building better insurance experiences
Fintechs have proven that UX is a competitive advantage, not an afterthought. By putting customers first, leveraging technology, being agile and embracing strategic partnerships, they’ve transformed financial services.
As the insurtech sector continues to evolve, embracing these lessons from fintech will be crucial in improving UX in insurtech and delivering insurance solutions that meet the expectations of modern consumers.
Insurtechs that focus on seamless, accessible and transparent experiences won’t just improve customer satisfaction – they’ll redefine what insurance can be.
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