Daily E-Commerce Pulse Report (Photo by Denny Müller on Unsplash)

Top 2024 resources on insurance

Best insurance resource in 2024.
Learn more about insurance to improve your e-commerce strategy.

  • 150 of The Most Expensive Keywords on Google (By Industry) - You may have heard that Google Ads is a quick way to get ROI from search engine traffic. This is an appealing prospect, especially because Google runs on a PPC (pay per click) model where you only pay for traffic that actually makes it to your site. However, handing Google your money is a concerning prospect, especially if you’ve heard rumors that it can be cost-prohibitive if you’re bidding in a competitive space on some of the most expensive keywords. 
    Topics: keywords, keyword, auto, insurance, business, repair, industry, software, online, cpc, google, expensive.
  • 5 Brands That Won Australian Advertising Awards [+What Marketers Can Learn From Them] - With all the work marketing teams are responsible for, it can be hard to make time to get reinspired and capture a spark of creativity that leads to a new, marketing strategy. This can be even more problematic for brands in physically isolated areas.
    Topics: advertising, brands, learn, effie, brand, marketing, northern, ads, won, campaign, great, awards, marketers, australian, insurance.
  • 8 Amazing Omnichannel Experience Examples from the World's Top Brands - With the global adoption of mobile devices, expansion of IoT, and dynamic behavior of customer buying habits, it’s become more important than ever for brands to take a holistic, interconnected approach to their customer’s digital experiences. An omnichannel approach enables businesses to deliver consistent, frictionless, and more convenient user experiences by interconnecting every customer touchpoint. To scale and stay competitive, companies need to ensure they’re meeting customers where they are, on the devices they use, and are delivering consistent messaging. Many businesses have taken the first step and adopted a multi-channel approach to engage with customers across a myriad of channels such as web or mobile. Where omnichannel differs from a multi-channel approach, is that with a multi-channel approach, each touchpoint is launched, managed, and optimized in silos. Given the unique nature of today’s consumer, it’s vital that companies break down the silos and adopt an omnichannel strategy, whether that’s to build new customer relationships or maintain the current ones. Speaking from personal experience, the easier it is for me to access my accounts, make purchases, manage settings, and engage with support, the happier I am. With so much technology available today, I expect to be able to do this in a manner that is the most convenient and comfortable to me. According to the Aberdeen group, “companies with extremely strong omnichannel customer engagement retain on average 89% of their customers, compared to 33% for companies with weak omnichannel customer engagement.” Below is a list of prime omnichannel examples from eight renown brands across a variety of industries to give you an idea of how you can adapt an omnichannel strategy to your business. While some of the most noticeable are from companies you probably come across day-to-day, it’s important to highlight that you don’t need to be a B2C retailer to adopt an omnichannel strategy, or that you have to focus on the customer-facing experience to have an omnichannel approach impact your business’ bottom line. Disney Starbucks & Dunkin Donuts Stance Sephora Walgreens Bank of America Zurich Insurance Group Disney Disney, despite being one of the world’s biggest multimedia and entertainment conglomerates, has been able to build deep, personal connections with their customers. By staying on top of today’s digital trends, focusing on the customer experience, and not sweating the small details, they’ve been able to create a global brand that people of all ages enjoy and feel an affiliation towards. As a 30-year-old Disney fan myself, who recently attended a wine night with friends to watch the new Mulan film, I personally am a great example of just how well the brand has been able to stay connected with an older (slightly) generation. Their omnichannel experience starts with the Disney website, which is mobile-responsive and optimized for every device, browser, and operating system. Once a Disney trip is booked, visitors can carry their travel plans over to a mobile app, the My Disney Experience App. This allows visitors to buy tickets, organize day-to-day plans, order food and beverages for a contactless dining experience, reserve tables, ask support questions, or use a virtual map to find attractions as well their wait times. In 2016 they introduced their Magic Band Program, which allows park visitors to enter the park, manage their fast pass, check in, and unlock their hotel room. With such a truly interconnected, seamless digital experience, they are one of the top omnichannel experience examples. I haven’t been to a Disney Park in years but can say I’m ecstatic for the opportunity to try these out the next time I go. Starbucks & Dunkin Donuts As a New Englander, you can probably guess with which brand my loyalty lies, but both coffee giants have set such phenomenal examples of omnichannel ecommerce that they’re both worth mentioning. Each has fully embraced the spirit of an omnichannel approach in the past few years by enabling customers to order through a mobile app, built and launched into their sales and marketing mix. This new approach allows both Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts to connect with customers at a more granular, personal level and drive a more convenient user experience through loyalty programs and various, expedited payment options. Coffee drinkers can place their order in-advance and pick up in-store, on-the-go without having to wait in line. With each order, customers can collect points to later trade for perks such as free coffee or discounts on food. For those who do end up standing in line, customers can choose to either pay through the app, a reloadable virtual card that stores money, or scan a unique QR code connected to their loyalty ID before handing the cashier a physical card or cash. The latter ensures customers can still collect points for future rewards. The mobile app not only gives customers a more seamless, convenient experience, but it also gives both businesses the opportunity to market drinks, deals, and discounts to their customers, and gives them the flexibility to meet new challenges, like those COVID imposed. Both Starbucks and Dunkin Donuts were able to successfully introduce contactless checkout and curbside pickup during the pandemic to allow for a safer customer experience. Stance One retailer who also doubled down on adding a mobile experience to their omnichannel mix is Stance, a highly popular American sock, underwear, and T-shirt brand. Stance recognized the need to improve their in-store customer experience by cutting down on long lines and wait times and realized they could solve the issue by enabling customers to checkout themselves. Instead of building a designated app, Stance built and launched a web-based self-checkout experience that users could access through their smartphone, without having to download anything. Given the number of apps I have on my phone (some of which are native and you can’t get rid of no matter how hard you try), I can fully appreciate the thought Stance put into their shopper’s experience and the approach they took to enabling mobile-self-checkout. Sephora Sephora, a leading beauty brand, seamlessly connects customers in-store with their online shopping cart, Sephora’s Beauty Bag, through well-placed tablets. Accessing their online account on-the spot, in-store, allows customers to look up product details, add products to their wish list, and purchase whichever they desire. Customers shopping at home can download the Sephora app and virtually try on hundreds of the brand’s makeup products with one of the world’s newest, “try-before-you-buy” experience. Sephora offers such a wide array of products to choose from so it’s that they enable customers to find the product that fits their personal style. The brand realized early on just how important it was to integrate their consumer channels to improve their customer’s experience and scale their success and adopted an omnichannel approach. number of apps I have on my phone (some of which are native and you can’t get rid of no matter how hard you try), I can fully appreciate the thought Stance put into their shopper’s experience and the approach they took to enabling mobile-self-checkout. Walgreens Another good omnichannel ecommerce example is the digital pharmaceutical experience that Walgreens built for their customers. They realized that a vast number of their customers were shopping and accessing their store and products on mobile devices. To deliver a more convenient pharmacy experience, they launched a mobile product that enables customers to refill their prescriptions by scanning the bar code on their medication with their smartphone camera. Customers can also access their prescription history, easily change pick-up locations, and set a pick-up time. While not groundbreaking, it’s a great example of how pharmacies can and should be thinking about how to improve their customer experiences.   Ready to Bring Your Own Omnichannel Strategy to Life? Make any touchpoint transactional and build unique commerce experiences catered to your brand with Elastic Path. Connect with us to learn more. Let's build an omnichannel experience Bank of America Banking is yet another industry that has been forced to undergo a drastic digital makeover in the last few decades, with Bank of America as one of the top brands leading the pack. Trust is critical in building brand relationships, especially where customer’s finances are involved, and Bank of America has stepped up its omnichannel development to meet those needs. Their secure mobile and desktop apps allow customers to digitally deposit checks, send recurring checks without having to physically write them, check account statuses, manage transfers and book appointments – all without having to get on the phone or go in-person. It wasn’t too long ago when people still had to walk to an ATM to deposit their paychecks. It was an inconvenient experience, but how else were you supposed to get your money? With this omnichannel strategy in place, Bank of America customers can bank on their time, at their convenience. In case anyone is curious, some banks today still actually use pneumatic tubes. For those who don’t know, it’s the banking version of a drive through where you pull up in your car, put your paperwork, cash, or checks, in a small container that then shoots through a tube to a desk clerk inside the bank who will then complete your objective.   Zurich Insurance Group The last omnichannel example I’ll share is that of the Zurich Insurance Group, as the experience they built is less focused on the customer-facing experience as it on the experience of their internal staff. The Zurich Insurance Group is a global insurance company based in Switzerland that offers a variety of general, property, and life insurance products and solutions for everyone from individuals to multi-national corporations. The company’s agents in Portugal had previously been using a monolithic, outdated system to manage policies and claims, handle receipts, and deal with customer information. It was a clunky and difficult system that inevitably hindered Zurich Insurance Group from being able to hire and onboard new agents. They ended up building an online portal, dedicated to improving the agent’s experience. The portal can be accessed on any device, including an app built for both smartphones and tablets. The new portal can quickly give company employees a complete view of their customer’s activities, send automatic notifications, and even leverages the new fingerprint scanning security feature. As a result, the Zurich Insurance Group ended up seeing a sharp uptick in policy business and were able to improve employee satisfaction. This is a great example of how leveraging an interconnected omnichannel digital solution to consolidate data and improve sales and internal employee experiences can be just as important to a business as ensuring the customer experience is flawless. At the end of the day, it also means that customers get faster, more accurate service, which is something everyone wants.
    Topics: worlds, omnichannel, examples, app, customer, customers, amazing, insurance, brand, able, brands, mobile, approach, experience.
  • Acko, a digital insurance provider in India, raises another $65M at a $300M valuation - Acko — a startup out of India that has taken on the country’s antiquated insurance industry with a digital-first product for drivers and others in transportation-related scenarios (for example, cancelled ticket insurance) — has raised more funding as it passes 20 million customers on its books. The company has closed a Series C of $65 […]
    Topics: valuation, india, companies, ventures, acko, services, amazon, million, raises, provider, company, 65m, digital, 300m, insurance, market.
  • CBD Insurance: Why CBD Businesses Need It for Product Liability - Companies in the cannabis and hemp space that don’t take out CBD insurance coverage could face serious financial and legal…
    Topics: need, product, fda, cbd, business, insurance, coverage, liability, products, businesses, legal, claims.
  • Catch takes hold of $12M to provide benefits that aren’t tied to employers - Catch is working to make sure that every gig worker has the health and retirement benefits they need.
    Topics: companies, benefits, offering, takes, provide, company, hold, 12m, catch, techcrunch, platform, tied, health, retirement, insurance, anderson, employers, arent.
  • Cover collects $16M to insure your gadgets, pets… anything - People procrastinate about buying insurance because it’s such a boring and complicated chore to compare policies. But Cover combines plans from 45 insurance companies into a single marketplace so it’s easy to find the best one for your car, home, rental, business, personal property, pets, jewelry and more. Now Cover is building powerful onboarding tricks […]
    Topics: insurance, best, wanted, startups, way, collects, 16m, cover, insure, million, gadgets, saroya, pets, customers, built.
  • Entrepreneurs Should Embrace Web 3.0 - This once-new technology initially made people nervous, but now virtually all businesses are reliant upon it, and it's set to become even more crucial to the way companies function.
    Topics: decentralized, entrepreneurs, embrace, blockchain, web, technology, supply, data, businesses, insurance, applications.
  • - Customers of insurance companies are starting to demand the same style of customer experience and convenience they have come to expect from retailers.
    Topics: buying, channels, retail, learn, work, easier, insurance, selling, customer, working, customers, digital, way.
  • From startups to Starbucks: The embedded API opportunity - We are sure to see large category leaders in the coming years, along with new use cases beyond today’s imagination.
    Topics: api, startups, techcrunch, services, brands, customer, right, opportunity, embedded, companies, financial, product, building, improve, starbucks, insurance.
  • Gig workers need health & benefits — Catch is their safety net - One of the hottest Y Combinator startups just raised a big seed round to clean up the mess created by Uber, Postmates and the gig economy. Catch sells health insurance, retirement savings plans and tax withholding directly to freelancers, contractors, or anyone uncovered. By building and curating simplified benefits services, Catch can offer a safety […]
    Topics: net, health, gig, benefits, retirement, tyrrell, ventures, users, workers, work, safety, need, insurance, catch, founder.
  • Latin America’s second wave of digital transformation - Over the past year, Latin America has been covered heavily in the international news as the COVID-19 pandemic led many to question our endurance in the face of a crisis.
    Topics: tech, unicorns, insurance, digital, techcrunch, company, pandemic, second, latin, transformation, wave, value, americas, companies, regions.
  • Lemonade launches pet insurance - Lemonade today launched pet insurance, marking its entry into a new vertical of insurance for the first time since it launched its renters/home owners insurance in 2016. Lemonade CEO Daniel Schreiber told TechCrunch back in February that some 70% of Lemonade customers with a home owners or renters policy are also pet owners, and yet […]
    Topics: pet, pets, women, lemonade, launches, techcrunch, tests, team, package, owners, insurance, policy.
  • News Cart for June 26th - Below is your eCommerce News Cart for June 26th, 2018: Subscribe: iTunes | Stitcher In the News: States Cleared to Charge Sales Tax on Online Purchases Thanks to the Supreme Court — The Supreme Court ruled that states can make online businesses collect sales taxes, even if they don’t have a physical presence in that [...]
    Topics: service, customer, experience, silicon, plans, job, insurance, 26th, youll, role, cart, online.
  • Route’s app auto-tracks all your packages, raises $12M - Between Amazon, FedEx, UPS and indie merchants, it’s easy to lose track of when your online purchases will be delivered. And if you’re buying something pricey or important, a lack of shipping insurance can leave you anxious and constantly checking your porch. But a fresh startup has found unprecedented growth by letting you monitor all […]
    Topics: 12m, orders, routes, amazon, merchants, app, raises, insurance, packages, route, walker, shipping, techcrunch, autotracks, tracking.
  • Super raises $50M to cover home repairs and maintenance via a subscription model - The real estate sales market has been in an upswing this year, and today a startup that’s addressing one of homeowners’ biggest needs — repair and maintenance services, and specifically the stress of sorting these out when things break down — is announcing some funding on the heels of strong growth. Super — which has […]
    Topics: number, service, plans, super, model, insurance, business, cover, services, maintenance, 50m, ramer, raises, ventures, subscription, repairs, techcrunch.
  • Sweden’s Hedvig raises $10.4M led by Obvious Ventures to build ‘nice insurance’ - Hedvig, a Swedish startup, is following in the footsteps of Lemonade, building a new generation of insurance platforms that use AI to help evaluate customers and operate on a policy of using surplus for social good. Today the company announced the next stage of its growth. The startup has closed a SEK100 million ($10.4 million) […]
    Topics: uses, nice, company, million, claims, insurance, led, money, raises, ventures, carlsen, techcrunch, build, help, swedens, hedvig, obvious.
  • The Importance of Shipment Insurance During the 2020 Holiday Shopping Season - Butterflies. We all know that feeling. The swirly, gooey, fluttery feeling that tumbles in our stomachs when something exciting is…
    Topics: value, brands, cost, customer, brand, reasons, customers, package, shipping, need, holiday, insurance.
  • The Train Wreck That is U.S. Healthcare (And What to Do About It) - Nikhil Krishnan is the founder and author of Out-of-Pocket, a newsletter featuring in-depth analysis and clever memes about the state of the healthcare system in the United States today. While most of us will tune out as soon as anybody mentions the word “healthcare” or “insurance,” Nikhil brings a fresh and fun perspective to the […]
    Topics: thoughts, options, krishnan, healthcare, system, nikhil, provide, wreck, insurance, today, train, premiums.
  • Three Ways to Use Content Marketing to Grow Your Online Store - Learn how content marketing helps online stores attract, nurture, and convert leads into paying customers. Plus, see two eCommerce content marketing examples.
    Topics: post, store, ways, marketing, need, blog, ask, content, question, grow, insurance, online, search.
  • Walmart’s Flipkart to cover insurance for all sellers in India and waive additional fees - Walmart-owned Flipkart is exempting storage and cancellation fees for sellers on its marketplace and also providing them with insurance coverage as the top e-commerce platform in India looks to maintain cordial relationships with more than 300,000 sellers who are facing severe disruption amid an unprecedented rise in the spread of coronavirus infections in the South […]
    Topics: virus, techcrunch, nation, insurance, cover, sellers, india, walmarts, flipkart, fees, week, marketplace, indian, seller, additional, waive.
  • When to Consider Ecommerce Shipping Insurance - High-end products, high volume, and quality customer service are among the reasons for considering shipping insurance for ecommerce. Shipping insurance can protect businesses from costs associated with damaged, stolen, and lost packages.
    Topics: insurance, shipping, value, protection, lost, ups, damaged, packages, ecommerce, declared, consider.
  • Where to Get Legal Advice: FAQs About the Legal Side of Setting Up Shop - Need legal advice for your online business? We've rounded up the best legal resources so you can get all your questions answered.
    Topics: youre, advice, shop, register, setting, faqs, lawyer, ask, need, online, insurance, business, legal, data.
  • YC-backed Curacel unveils new API platform that enables tech-led businesses to offer insurance - Curacel, the YC-backed startup that is developing insurance infrastructure for the African market, has launched a new interface that allows digital businesses like those in retail, fintech, e-commerce and logistics to add insurance to their core products. The API-based tool, dubbed Grow, has so far been integrated with 22 tech entities across Africa including Topship, […]
    Topics: curacel, products, insurance, companies, ycbacked, market, offer, techled, businesses, unveils, infrastructure, africa, system, including, enables, technologies, platform, techcrunch.