Asia’s first and only metasearch comparison engine for insurance products. Its easy-to-use interface and unbiased proposition has attracted 3.6 million users to date since launch in March 2015.
T H E D I G I T A L I N S U R E R ’ S S T A R T U P I N S U R T E C H A W A R D
GoBear
Problem
Asian consumers find it hard to trust the insurance and banking industry and are feeling lost due to an overwhelming wealth of information and over complicated products. Insurers and banks have lost access to their customers due to their over-reliance on the costly and biased traditional broker/ agent channel. No easy & unbiased channel exists for consumers to find the best financial product and provider.
Consumers want a smarter way to compare. They want a quick overview of the market and a simple and easy way to make well informed decisions. Existing comparison sites are actually online brokers and drive commission-based sales.
Providers want a smarter way to sell. Providers of insurance, cards and loans want more user-
friendly and effective digital channels to connect to consumers less expensively and more efficiently. They would like to own the customer relationship.
Context
Some Asian economies spend 11% of their entire GDP on financial products. And insurance premiums generated from online channels are expected to double in the next few years. It is estimated that 60% of insurers in Asia Pacific are also looking to increase their online spend by 40%. This is all because consumers are becoming more online and mobile driven.
In 2015, 66% of Asian consumers were open to using mobile finance services for bill payments. And in the next few years, 79% of worldwide consumers are likely to make the move to digital channels for their insurance interactions. With so many options plus reported unethical dealings, it’s no surprise consumers need help in making the right choice and providers want to have a more direct line to their customers.
Meeting the Needs of Today’s Consumer
There hasn’t been a more talked about generation than the Millennials, and the interest is justified considering that they will soon make up the largest generation to ever live. Their strength does not just lie in sheer numbers; Millennials trump in earnings and spending power, and are in fact predicted to make more money than their parents (the Baby Boomer generation) by 2018.
The demand for clear, unbiased information from Millennials is creating an impetus for transparency and change, and in order to fully tap into this tech-savvy generation, insurers and banks need to evolve into the digital age, with the buoyant insurtech/fintech movement already shaking up the industry.
Insurers and banks are looking at ways to incorporate the best and brightest innovations as
part of an ongoing strategy to better connect with this new generation of consumers, as well as
changing the way they communicate and engage with this new breed who demand more for their valued custom.
The Case for Metasearch Engine
GoBear is the smart solution that meets providers and Millennials’ consumption needs: GoBear offers Asia’s first metasearch comparison site. Its easy-to-use interface and unbiased proposition has attracted millions of users in just one year since launch in March 2015. Over
12 months (Apr15 – Apr16), 2.2 million users in three markets (Singapore, Thailand and
Malaysia) have come to GoBear to compare insurance and banking products from hundreds of providers.
GoBear is kicking goals: Currently the number one comparison website for insurance in
Singapore and Thailand, GoBear has little competition and strong brand equity:
A model that works for consumers and providers: GoBear attracts users through
multiple channels by demonstrating the benefits of comparing insurance and financial products before buying. When users visit the website (either on their mobile, tablet or desktop) and select a specific product they can click out to the providers of their choice. That’s when GoBear charges providers a click fee.
A conversion rate of up to 30% (10x higher than a traditional search engine): GoBear has proven the user is willing to buy online if they are well informed and once certain volume thresholds are met, GoBear will be able to command pricing to sustainable levels without losing its attractiveness to providers and users. Growing user awareness of GoBear will lower acquisition costs as more users will come to GoBear’s site directly instead of via multiple marketing channels.
Our Unique Model:
For Users
Unbiased: We don’t play favorites with providers or plans. We provide unbiased and peer-
reviewed product information.
Tailor-made: We cover the whole market and use personalised search tools to only show
products relevant to the users’ needs, 24/7.
For Providers
Own the customer: The provider gets to own the customer relationship and to know the
customer better while moving away from the expensive traditional channel.
Disrupting Traditional Advertising
GoBear’s unique and unbiased comparison model is at once at a media and transactional
platform for providers. Instead of going back to the traditional model of advertising on media,
our unique proposition based on cost per click and cost per lead payment, allows providers to advertise their products that gets them tangible returns at the same time.
There is no retainer fee involved and providers get access to product and market analytics. Based on how users respond in their choice of purchase and the way they peruse the
products; providers get unprecedented insights into how they can further refine their product to
meet the consumers’ ever-changing needs in a faster timeframe.
Results
Singapore is now at a sweet spot where insurers and intermediaries are coming to us. GoBear has been established as a serious comparison site with good user interface and there is ample media coverage by industry players.
The success of this easy-to-use platform has attracted affiliate networks to call upon us for tie- ups. Our foray into banking just started but we are making headwinds in the marketing space, capturing the attention of media agencies representing banks locally.
We have attracted providers to offer more than 2,000 products on GoBear and we are currently the most complete in the Singapore market in terms of product offerings. For Travel, Health insurance and Credit Card, we have more than 95% of the Singapore market covered and we offer the largest number of bank providers for our Personal Loan product.
The launch of GoBear has paved the way for an entirely new and transparent data -based consumer behaviour. GoBear’s unique Coverage Score algorithm provides users with a clear indication of a financial product’s benefit quality. When stacked against the product’s premium, the user is able to make a more informed and cost-effective choice based on personal needs. After only 1 year in the market, GoBear has helped consumers on average save more than
20% in their premiums. This is prove of how our unbiased model offers valuable insight into consumer behaviour for providers. They are thus able to scale and tweak their product
offerings.
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