hen I had the first idea for Coverflex, I was solely focused on fixing problems that were evident to me (and a bunch of other people) regarding insurance. In a world that moves at lightning speed, where processes are constantly improved, updated, made digital, how could such an important part of people’s private lives and companies’ management still be an archaic, dragged-out process on paper that relied so much on middlemen?
The answer was so obvious it almost seemed too easy. We coined it “Netflix for company insurance”, with monthly plans. It was a disruptive idea. We validated it - once, twice, and about a dozen times over. People said they wanted our solution, they needed it. Their pain points were specific, repeatedly related to the process and how time consuming it was. People wanted to get their time back, stop wasting it on boring bureaucratic nonsense, and start investing it in the real deal: managing their businesses and their people. The value added lied on creating an unrelentingly delightful experience for users. Making insurance sexy, OK, simple; making it something positive.
We found our target in the natural early adopters of such solutions: the tech startup ecosystem. On stage at the largest tech conference in Europe, I impressed upon the world my belief in what we were building: Coverflex was going to shake up the insurance industry - and it needed shaking.
However, we soon realised the insurance industry wasn’t the only one that needed shaking - the employee benefits’ industry needed it too. Business insurances can be put into two different groups: those that a company contracts to insure the business itself and those that a company pays for where the insured party is an employee. Within the second group, people saw insurance as an employee benefit. Health Insurance, for example, is mainly considered to be an employee benefit. It’s part of the group of things that companies offer their employees to take care of them and in return for their work.
So, insurance isn’t a standalone offer within the company - employee dynamic. It is part of a mix of things that includes other benefits and what is called “perks” or discounts (a lot of people even call some benefits “perks”, but we’ll get to that later on). This made us go beyond insurance and start considering a way of offering a combination of insurance, benefits, and perks with bespoke plans that would improve the lives of HR managers, CEOs, and CFOs alike. It was the other level of the insurance products companies bought and needed. We dived into the world of benefits and made strides to understand how to expand on our offer and build something valuable.
The solution came with the concept of flexibility and personalisation. The thing with benefits is: not everyone wants the same thing. Not even the same person wants the same thing from one month to the next. We would help managers offer more benefits to their employees in a way that didn’t force them to create independent processes for each benefit provider.
The thing with benefits is: not everyone wants the same thing. Not even the same person wants the same thing from one month to the next. We would help managers offer more benefits to their employees in a way that didn’t force them to create independent processes for each benefit provider.
But taking on this mix of things made us think that something was missing a step up. What tied these elements together? What were insurance, benefits, and perks a part of?
The not so simple answer is: compensation. It’s a big word. Understanding it, managing it, and bringing all its elements together is a big mission. It’s where we’re landing and where we’re heading.
Compensation is a touchpoint between companies and employees but it’s still one-sided and a passive process for most individuals. It’s so personal and so distant at the same time. We see a chance to improve the lives of HR, CEOs, and CFOs (and their company’s bottom line) but also the opportunity to give more quality of life to every employee within a company. Facilitating a two-way connection between companies, managers, and their people. Becoming the easiest and best solution to pay people and get paid. That’s what we’re working on today.
Facilitating a two-way connection between companies, managers, and their people. Becoming the easiest and best solution to pay people and get paid. That’s what we’re working on today.
Our focus is on building the best solution, adapted to the world today and to the struggles and needs of working people. That’s why we love to talk about compensation with anyone who is interested: to learn how to build a product informed by real insights and inputs.
Let’s have a chat?
