# Different countries, different insurance cultures: how insurers can adapt their products
Author:  Pal Sinha, Barnali 
Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali
Published: 2022-03-09
Category: INSURANCE
Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/insurance
Meta Title: International Insurance Challenges: Breaking Down Cultural
Meta Description: Discover the key challenges faced by insurance providers in international markets - from language barriers to varying regulations and sales strategies.
URL: https://financedigest.com/different-countries-different-insurance-cultures-how-insurers-can-adapt-their-productshtml

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## Different countries, different insurance cultures: how insurers can adapt their products

_By_ **_Brad Worth_** _, Senior Vice President, Channels and Product Solutions at insurance core and digital platform provider_ [_EIS_](http://eisgroup.com/) _._

What we like about international travel – the rich cultural diversity – is precisely the challenge that insurers operating across borders struggle with. We are not talking about different food, art or entertainment here, but different insurance cultures. Insurers who operate internationally, or are looking to operate internationally, enter a landscape where the way insurance products are bought and sold and even thought about can vary greatly. Adapting to the differences will define the [success of the new market](https://www.financedigest.com/the-secret-to-stock-market-success.html "The Secret to Stock Market Success") or product entry.

The traditional response to these [regional differences has been to deploy separate product](https://www.financedigest.com/flooded-lead-acid-battery-regional-landscape-production-sales-consumption-status-and-prospects.html "Flooded Lead Acid Battery Regional Landscape, Production, Sales & Consumption Status and Prospects") systems for each country. A newer and clearly better approach is to use one product [platform for many countries to solve for the following key](https://www.financedigest.com/leading-payment-platform-appoints-new-key-positions-to-help-with-growth.html "Leading Payment Platform Appoints New Key Positions to Help With Growth") challenges.

**Language barriers**

The most obvious [challenge faced](https://www.financedigest.com/under-saved-and-underprepared-women-face-challenges-saving-for-retirement.html "UNDER-SAVED AND UNDERPREPARED: WOMEN FACE CHALLENGES SAVING FOR RETIREMENT") by insurers who operate outside their country of origin is the language barrier. With a new language, the [product is changed significantly in the way](https://www.financedigest.com/5-ways-to-sustain-productivity-when-the-clocks-go-back.html "5 ways to sustain productivity when the clocks go back") that it is described or presented to suit the new target market. Simply translating the product’s description may not be enough to convey the intended meaning. Carriers need to be able to communicate with [consumers in a manner that is culturally](https://www.financedigest.com/incoming-starbucks-boss-to-bring-consumer-insight-to-coffee-culture.html "Incoming Starbucks boss to bring consumer insight to coffee culture") familiar, regardless of the channel; whether that be call centres, online or through mobile devices.

**Product definitions deviate**

[Insurance products fulfil requirements that are shaped by the target market’s](https://www.financedigest.com/a-look-ahead-to-2023-in-the-insurance-market.html "A Look Ahead to 2023 in the Insurance Market") demographic composition.  Some European countries are heavily [regulated with standard definitions of insurance](https://www.financedigest.com/swiss-regulator-monitoring-banks-and-insurers-after-svb-collapse.html "Swiss regulator monitoring banks and insurers after SVB collapse") products, whilst other countries may embrace on-demand insurance, or have large gig economies. Carriers may define a motor [product one way](https://www.financedigest.com/virtual-assistance-to-pave-the-way-for-incontinence-products-market.html "Virtual assistance to pave the way for Incontinence Products Market") in the U.K., but it might be very different in France or Germany, despite a perception  of the product being largely the same.

**Sales and distribution: key differences**

There are key differences in the [way insurance](https://www.financedigest.com/predictive-analytics-a-new-way-of-insuring-success.html "Predictive analytics: a new way of insuring success") products are sold and distributed from country to country, meaning the product itself can be different if it’s sold direct, by brokers or other intermediaries, or affinity partners. In the UK for example, the majority of personal lines of [insurance is sold through aggregators, impacting how carriers package, present and differentiate insurance products](https://www.financedigest.com/two-thirds-of-consumers-would-prefer-to-deal-with-a-single-provider-for-insurance-products.html "Two-thirds of consumers would prefer to deal with a single provider for insurance products"). For this reason, the mix of channels for the sale of insurance products affects how carriers are able to build new or alter the design of their base product, as the role of brokers, agents or retailers differ in the [value chain](https://www.financedigest.com/ready-for-the-new-eu-payments-value-chain.html "Ready for the new EU payments value chain?").

**Varying regulations**

Judicial and regulatory environments vary significantly between countries. This means that products, pricing and claims processing, as defined by regulatory bodies also varies, and some governments may mandate specific coverage whilst others may not. In addition, insurance administration can also differ. For example, the time-frame to acknowledge a claim event can require a six, or twelve hour acknowledgment of a claim, or a payment within thirty-six hours, whilst other countries may not have such requirements.

[**Regulatory reporting**](https://www.financedigest.com/three-challenges-using-excel-regulatory-reporting-2.html "Three challenges of using Excel for regulatory reporting")

When operating in different geographies, the [regulatory reporting](https://www.financedigest.com/three-challenges-using-excel-regulatory-reporting.html "Three challenges of using Excel for regulatory reporting") requirements also vary. Carriers, therefore, have to understand how often, what, when and where they have to report, and at what level of detail. [Access to data is critical for carriers to meet](https://www.financedigest.com/meet-chris-shalchi-the-man-democratizing-access-to-e-commerce-expertise.html "Meet Chris Shalchi, The Man Democratizing Access To E-Commerce Expertise") these requirements.

**The right tech to bridge boundaries**

[Insurers operating across multiple countries can solve the challenges by moving](https://www.financedigest.com/vias-cloud-based-solutions-ensure-painless-office-move-for-insurance-body.html "VIA’S CLOUD-BASED SOLUTIONS ENSURE PAINLESS OFFICE MOVE FOR INSURANCE BODY") away from ridgid, complex and often constraining processes associated with legacy systems, and adopting modular approaches. This allows carriers to not only more easily adapt their product definitions, sales strategies and meet local regulations, but also better meet customer [needs for coverage across geographies and drive](https://www.financedigest.com/reasons-you-need-a-car-insurance-when-driving-in-thailand.html "Reasons You Need a Car Insurance When Driving in Thailand") efficiencies.

However, many [insurance platforms operate along business](https://www.financedigest.com/are-there-tax-breaks-for-business-health-insurance.html "Are there tax breaks for business health insurance?") lines, with processes built to make internal, as opposed to external, operations efficient. Everything from the workflow to the screens to the [data model to the rules were all built around the lines of business](https://www.financedigest.com/big-data-lowers-insurance-premiums-and-optimises-business-performance.html "Big Data Lowers Insurance Premiums and Optimises Business Performance"). If an [insurer is using a system built around motor](https://www.financedigest.com/2020-the-paradoxical-year-that-has-reshaped-the-future-of-motor-insurance-and-related-sectors.html "2020: The paradoxical year that has reshaped the future of motor insurance and related sectors") in the U.K. and wanted to offer the same in France, it would almost have to replicate all parts of its policy system to accommodate regional differences, because they weren’t created as services or delivered as different modules.

Furthermore, [insurers’ systems are often closed platforms](https://www.financedigest.com/5-ways-a-ccm-platform-can-help-improve-customer-engagement-in-insurance.html "5 Ways a CCM platform can help improve customer engagement in insurance"). This means that policies cannot be customised easily to suit regional differences and provide customer-centric, tailored solutions. When looking for tech solutions, multinational [insurers need](https://www.financedigest.com/breaking-down-the-types-of-insurance-you-need.html "Breaking Down the Types of Insurance You Need") open platforms that are seamlessly adaptable to different geographies to be competitive.

**Why modular options are key**

Modern, cloud-based systems are key to achieving modularity. An API-first architecture — software design that enables applications to easily interface with one another — can help carriers roll out new offerings in weeks instead of months and reduce [legacy system](https://www.financedigest.com/retailers-weighed-down-by-their-own-legacy-systems-survey-reveals.html "Retailers Weighed Down by their own Legacy Systems, survey reveals") dependence. This way organizations can rapidly [develop a new business](https://www.financedigest.com/reasons-to-hire-a-web-developer-for-your-business-website.html "Reasons to Hire a Web Developer for Your Business Website") process without needing to significantly rewrite their product and application, for instance.

A new generation of [core platforms](https://www.financedigest.com/de-surinaamsche-bank-expands-relationship-with-fiserv-to-upgrade-core-banking-platform-and-add-new-digital-banking-capabilities.html "De Surinaamsche Bank Expands Relationship with Fiserv to Upgrade Core Banking Platform and Add New Digital Banking Capabilities") support this “one product for many countries” approach by enabling insurers to deconstruct a product — separating the definition of the product, such as the rules and workflow and different underwriting guidelines, from the core administration capabilities.

With a product-centric platform, upgrades are complex because [insurers have likely customized](https://www.financedigest.com/customer-engagement-in-the-insurance-sector.html "Customer engagement in the insurance sector") parts of the system so even in a single-country model, upgrades can be cumbersome due to the complex environment, including upstream and downstream integrations. But by separating the carrier rules and products from the core system, carriers can use the continuous integration/continuous delivery [model and do full regression testing for the whole platform](https://www.financedigest.com/aon-empowers-cat-modellers-to-run-any-model-on-its-enhanced-elements-10-platform.html "AON EMPOWERS CAT MODELLERS TO RUN ANY MODEL ON ITS ENHANCED ELEMENTS 10 PLATFORM") and upgrade very quickly. Carriers have to make sure they have separated the business logic for the customer or the product from the [core system capabilities](https://www.financedigest.com/russian-doll-building-digital-capabilities-into-a-banks-core.html "Russian Doll: Building digital capabilities into a bank’s core"). This reduces the potential risk and minimizes the time to do upgrades. As a result, the new generation cloud-based, API-first modular product platforms help multinationals reuse technology [investments from one country](https://www.financedigest.com/buyers-shun-city-centres-for-country-villas-when-it-comes-to-lifestyle-investment-in-iberia.html "BUYERS SHUN CITY CENTRES FOR COUNTRY VILLAS WHEN IT COMES TO LIFESTYLE INVESTMENT IN IBERIA") to another in unprecedented ways.


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