The insurance sector’s attempt to get more people covered is being constrained by technology, according to an industry insider.

Phil Jeynes, head of corporate partnerships at Reassured, told Money Marketing that the technology makes it difficult for insurers to break out of its current one-size-fits-all model.

“Insurers are keen to have products that fit everybody. But if your technology is a constraint, if it’s going to cost you a fortune and take you months, or years to get those things in place, then that’s difficult to do,” he said.

He added the insurance sector is slow to adapt to changing trends but it has made headway with building infrastructure to meet complex consumer needs.

There is a link between better technology and more effective communication with consumers.

Jeynes said: “From a technology point of view, we are slow to change our language as an industry and I think we just need to get the technology in place.

“We’re close as an industry to unlocking that in a more meaningful way. And having products that you can flex for different people.”

Jeynes said the insurance sector needs to be conscious of the changing needs of consumers and the role technology plays in that evolution.

“We’re definitely mindful that consumer appetite is changing about how they want to engage, and we want to be at the vanguard of that. But equally we want to make sure it’s really robust first, before we kind of roll it out and say ‘here’s a really good option’.

“We’re about to launch a digital interface that allow customers to self-serve if they want to, and then we’ve got the phone there as backup if they’ve got a question or if they drop out, or if there’s something more complicated going on they need some help with.”

He cited renters as one demographic that is under served by insurers.

“We have products that suit renters down to the ground. Income protection is an ideal product for anybody who’s renting because if you’re off work due to illness or injury, we’ll replace a big chunk of your salary and that means you can pay your rent.”

He added that the income protection product can be better marketed to renters if the sector collaborated with other stakeholders such as estate agents.

“I think all we really need to do is put a wrapper around that product that makes it specific to the rental market, and then get it out there. Probably the two things to help us do that will be the technology to put that wrapper around it to make it look specific to renters. And then a partnership.

“So how do we partner with the estate agents who have those touch points? It feeds into a big industry initiative that’s going on around signposting saying ‘look as a rental agent, you might not be the person to sell this product. But you are the person that has that touch point with the customer. So why not pass them off?’”