Amazon has officially announced the closure of its Amazon Insurance Store initiative, following strong hints from earlier this year.
Launched in October 2022, the platform aimed to streamline the process of purchasing home insurance in the UK. However, visitors to the site are now greeted with a message indicating the cessation of operations, according to InsurTech Insights.
Initially, the Amazon Insurance Store partnered with three prominent insurers – Ageas, Co-op, and LV= – and later expanded its collaborations to include Policy Expert and Urban Jungle.
The initiative sought to offer consumers a convenient online platform for browsing and buying home insurance policies.
The decision to shut down the Amazon Insurance Store follows months of speculation about its future – which has seen it shut after less than two years of operation.
Vassil Gedov, head of the Amazon Insurance Store, stated,“Over the last year, we have been evaluating various businesses and programs, and as a part of that we’ve made the difficult decision to discontinue the Amazon Insurance Store. Customers who have purchased policies will not see any changes to their coverage, claims in process at this time, or future claims they may make during their policy term. We will provide guidance to customers on any actions they need to take as a result of this change.”
Rory Yates, SVP Corporate Strategy at EIS, added, “Leveraging your assets always seems like a sensible way to go. In this case their customers. And whilst we will hear from a lot of commentators that they a. find this a predictable outcome and b. it reflects the complex and competitive nature of insurance, I would largely disagree with them.
“I think this was always a massive learning opportunity. And that always bears fruit in my experience. And my hat is off to all those that participated in this. Creating a “minimum standard” and trying to create a “better experience” were noble efforts. And in other industries both more likely to have succeeded.”
“This therefore perhaps reflects more on the industry and where we are with consumers than it does the platform or approach.”
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