Just in Case: finding new destinations for the insurance experience
Product Design & Validation
With Fidelidade
Challenge
To define and materialise a new vision for on-demand insurance.
Outcome
Strategy to approach insurance on demand; turned into a new, well-received travel app for the Portuguese market.
Context
For the past two decades, insurance has been reimagined for the digital world. Going from simple online communication to complex subscription and management tools. With the emergence of new digital-born insurance companies and products, a new insurance category emerged: fully automated, on-demand insurance.
What are the best strategies to explore this new paradigm? How can they be materialised into solutions for a mobile-native experience? The biggest Portuguese insurance company challenged us to answer these questions.
OUR ROLE
01
Rethink the ways an on-demand product can change how people experience insurance.
02
Develop and validate an on-demand insurance MVP and its value proposition.
This challenge was split into two phases: first, a complex research & strategy phase, intended to: (1) understand how people look at insurance in general; (2) map their behaviours towards on-demand services; (3) define an insurance segment & prototype solutions to approach it. The second phase was all about turning a prototype into a fully-working MVP and putting it to the test in the market.
PHASE ONE
83
Interviews
176
Surveyed users
26
Observations
at Fidelidade contact centres.
10
Moments of immersion
6
Concept validations
1
Prototype
RESEARCH
We started our research by focusing on people — asking questions about their fears and sense of risk, learning different points of view on insurance, and understanding what the concept of on-demand means to them.
After weeks of intensive information gathering and passionate discussions, the time finally came to start making sense of everything we found out. It was crucial for us to reach a common alignment on what on-demand really is:
On-demand is a fully automated, end-to-end, seamless experience which allows users to access a service from anywhere, whenever needed.
- Users in this segment already have many digital habits internalised;
- People tend to research insurance options while they are planning, which opens up opportunities for bundling different services together.
Bootcamp & prototyping
To translate the knowledge we obtained during the research into useful ideas, we invited Fidelidade’s team to join us for a full-day workshop. The plan was to share knowledge, ideate and build a prototype. We divided into multidisciplinary groups that focused on a particular challenge identified during the research phase. In the end, we combined all the solutions into a single experience that approached different moments of the travelling journey.
We used the ideas from the boot camp as building blocks for our final prototype — a travel app in which on-demand insurance was just one of the many features the app had to offer.
Testing this first workable prototype helped us to define design principles, targets, and the key drivers and recommendations that would inform future implementation.
PHASE TWO
It was time for us to bring our concept to life and put it to the test in the Portuguese market. We began phase two: developing a functioning and testable Minimum Viable Product with Fidelidade.
200
Surveyed users
17
Quick customer interviews
6
In-depth interviews
1
Validated product
NAMING
“Just in case”: a common expression that is not about how something negative could happen but rather about reassuring you that you’re ready for anything. Easy to understand, it represents what everyone ends up doing before and during trips. We knew it was the perfect name for what we were building.
Product definition
In order to find products that reflected clients’ needs and aligned with Fidelidade’s business, we looked at insurance claims and new business from previous years and compared them to our target’s current perceptions about insurance; which is often seen as a complex system that is hard to understand and navigate.
In the traditional insurance relationship, an agent works as a filter that shields the client from additional complexity. In a digital product, however, we had to find a way to deliver complex information and simplify the decision-making process through the design of the app itself.
Insight & opportunity
This was a big opportunity for us to create value by combining our travel insurance offer with a set of features that, though heavily used, are commonly spread through different apps. To understand this, we took a closer look at a customer’s travelling journey, and mapped their behaviours, and feelings towards different events and tasks — including the buying of travel insurance.
We set out to design an experience that helped sustain and transfer positive momentum from the consideration phase to the travel preparation phase.
Value Proposition
Just in Case allows travellers to gather relevant information, useful tasks and tools in one place, providing a sense of security through progressive levels of assistance, ranging from more general information about their destinations to insurance assistance.
On launch, the key features developed were:
- Destination information and travel tips for stress-free preparation;
- Personalised and automated checklists (according to destination);
- Fast, 24/7 access to insurance assistance, and freemium assistance to all app users;
- Possibility to subscribe and customise extra cover in a few minutes.
Through the application, the possibility of hiring travel insurance on-demand becomes a fundamental and indispensable part of the user’s expected experience.
PRODUCT DESIGN
Our value proposition had to be thoroughly reflected in all aspects of the user experience. So, we defined guidelines to inform the UX & UI design of the app.
User Experience:
- Reduce the user’s anxiety and provide in-context information/features;
- Enhance focus and provide clear paths with smart suggestions;
- Offer control to the user, advising them without creating a sense of loss of freedom;
- Bring back happiness in planning their next journey.
User Interface:
- Colour palette consisting of cool and light tones to contrast with pre-travel anxiety;
- Red (Fidelidade’s brand colour) helps highlight insurance-related elements;
- Clean and friendly sans serif typeface (Nunito Sans) matches the app’s mood.
Roadmap
Features for the first release of MVP were prioritised in accordance with the value proposition, the user’s needs and took into account competitors’ features. We also planned a roadmap to strengthen Just in Case not just as a practical app, but one that fits with the target’s lifestyle and social dynamics.
Results
The MVP was well received, both as an app and an insurance product. In the first 4 months, the app enjoyed steady, mostly organic growth, with 9131 downloads & 946 insurance quotes.
In the end, we designed more than just a new way for Fidelidade to offer their on-demand insurance products to an increasing client base. We incorporated those products into an app that offers added value throughout the full travelling journey. A seamless way to combine business viability and greater value for Portuguese travellers.
This project received an honourable mention at the 2019 Portugal Digital Awards.
Check Just In Case website and embark on a new trip.
