Record Year Brings Online Insurer Smile 150,000 Customers

As of January 2021, Swiss online insurer Smile has over 150,000 customers. The insurtech company can thus look back on a record year in 2020.

Smile views its online strategy – initiated at an early stage – as a success factor, which was further strengthened with the orientation to Mobile First and a systematic customer focus. Smile customers can manage their insurance conveniently online, via an app, and without an advisor and benefit from a digital 24/7 service.

Another catalyst behind Smile’s success story is probably the COVID-19 crisis, which has brought about lasting changes in consumer behavior and has accelerated the pace of digitalization in the insurance industry too. According to a recently published market study by Boston Consulting, just under one-quarter of all Swiss prefer a digital channel for taking out insurance. Two years ago, this figure was 17%. “Customers are increasingly looking for digital alternatives. Our app, launched a year ago, now numbers 30,000 users. The number of our app users thus increased six-fold last year. Thousands of people use the app daily”, says Joséphine Chamoulaud, Head Marketing & E-Commerce Smile.

Smile anticipated the change in customer behavior early on and deliberately set itself apart from conventional insurance solutions. Instead, the insurtech company takes successful digital brands like Netflix and Spotify as its benchmarks. For example, instead of long contract terms, Smile offers a monthly cancellation option and the possibility to pay by credit card. “Our driver for product innovations and performance are the daily interactions with our customers, who are calling for convenience and flexibility in their insurance without foregoing service quality”, explains Pierangelo Campopiano, CEO Smile.

Thanks to its digital business model, Smile was able to win key partners such as the fintech company Neon, with whom it has launched the first successful mobile bancassurance product in Switzerland.

Another factor behind the record year is the offering: Smile customers benefit from sustainable, fair premiums with first-class benefits and unbeatable service. Smile was recently named as the best car insurer in Switzerland with the best value for money by the Swiss Institute for Quality Testing (SIQT).

However, Smile does not intend to rest on its laurels and has instead announced that it will continue to drive growth and its systematic customer focus. Helvetia too will advance Smile’s complementary business model. “With Smile’s mobile-first approach, we have been able to tap into new sources of growth and revenue and have thus reached an important milestone in the implementation of our strategy. We will continue to use the accelerated digitalization for our customers and partners,” says Martin Tschopp, Chief Customer Officer Helvetia Switzerland.