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How Technology is Transforming Insurance Distribution Channels

4 minutes, 31 seconds read

‘Insuring’ has always been a mundane and complicated subject for businesses. Distribution channels allow customers to access and purchase products efficiently. According to JM Financial, online insurance sales for new business are fast catching up and are likely to grow at a CAGR of 13 percent to become a $37 billion break by 2025.

Each distribution channel requires different resources to be effective and impact the pricing structure. The type of insurance business model determines its structure, strategy and placement in the market.

Take, for instance, India. The market size of the online insurance business in India is currently $15 billion, but the overall insurance penetration rate is just 3.7% (Statista, 2018). 

The regions where insurance penetration is low poses an immense potential for the digital premium market. Insurers can leverage the following distribution channels to undermine the profound potential.

1. Self-directed or Direct Distribution Channel

Through Self-directed or direct distribution channels, insurers can reach out to the customers without shelling out commission for any middle man. With an increase in the population of tech-savvy customers, the ready availability or online channel of advice or transaction capabilities is the need of the hour. 

Online channels, websites, social media platforms, e-commerce and kiosks are some examples of the direct distribution channels in insurance. The 2017 Global Distribution and Marketing Consumer Study reveals that nearly 51% of digitally active groups of consumers (39% of all Insurance consumers) have purchased insurance through an online channel. The direct insurance distribution channel encourages self-service and independent decision making.

NLP-powered chatbots are a great way to provide a self-service portal for buying/renewing insurance policies. Leading Insurers like Religare are leveraging the direct distribution channel by integrating chatbots in different platforms like their website, mobile app, and even on third-party apps like WhatsApp.

2. Assisted Distribution

Agents and brokers are typically the key players in the insurance distribution channel, with market shares of 42% and 25% respectively. The old school face-to-face distribution channel is very much alive and is integrated with tech assisted models to ensure more leads and conversions. They mainly play a part in advising and managing complex insurance products.

agent's share in assisted insurance distribution channel

Agents, insurance brokers and reinsurance brokers remain the most recognized insurance purchase channel. The Gartner Group reports that 60% of the US GDP is sold through assisted or indirect channels. Cognitive technology is becoming a key enabler to strengthen the assisted distribution channel. PwC suggests leveraging analytics solutions (mainly predictive analytics and behavioral analytics) to increase sellers’ knowledge as well as skills.

[Related: How behavioral psychology is fixing modern insurance claims]

The technologies that are empowering learning for Insurers include augmented reality, machine learning, data analysis and NLP.

upcoming technologies in assisted distribution channel

For example, Zelros, a European AI startup, is augmenting the knowledge of sales and customer representatives through best product recommendations, advisory, and pricing based on the customer profile in real-time.

3. Affinity-based Insurance Distribution Channels

The affinity channel focuses on distributing products to a tightly-connected group of consumers with similar interests. Traditionally, the affinity-based distribution channel involved peer-to-peer networks, brokers and aggregators. While the network model remains the same, the model has become digital and tech-driven for affinity channels. And technology is playing a vital role in expanding the consumer base. The key benefits of the affinity distribution channel are-

  • Common platform for all stakeholders.
  • One-stop access to policies and claims.
  • Centralized database for insightful analysis.
API-based Insurance Model Affinity Distribution Channel

This distribution channel is also a part of B2B2C or API-based insurance business models. Here, Insurers can leverage 3rd party apps to distribute their policies. APIs or Application Programming Interfaces are lightweight programs to extend the functionality of existing apps. Travel, airbus, hotel, bank and retail are some examples of affinity-based distribution channels.

Finaccord estimates that airline companies hold a distribution share of up to 10% of the travel insurance market. The annual revenue from airline and travel insurance providers partnership may range from $1.2 billion to 1.5 billion in premiums.

[Related: 4 New Consumer-centric Business Models in Insurance, How InsurTech-Insurance Partnership Delivers New Product Innovations]

The majority of travel insurance policy sales across the globe are done through some kind of affinity partner instead of via a direct sales channel.

Jeff Rutledge, President & CEO, AIG Travel
Source: Insurance Business UK

The Bottom Line

In the countries where buying an Insurance is not mandatory, market penetration is extremely low for Insurers. Being meticulous in sales and marketing efforts and educating customers about the benefits of insurance is just not sufficient. Convenience is the key to new generation consumers. Therefore, insurers need to invest in technology and make insurance policies accessible to the new-age digital consumers through the channel of their choice. 

Michael D. Hutt and Thomas W. Speh, in their book – Business Marketing Management: B2B, suggest a six-step process to select among the most efficient insurance distribution channels-

  1. Determine the target customers.
  2. Identify and prioritize customer channel requirements by segment.
  3. Access the business’s capabilities to meet those customer requirements.
  4. Use the channel offering as a yardstick against those offered by competitors.
  5. Create a channel solution for customers’ needs.
  6. Evaluate and select the most effective among the distribution channels.

We’ve developed insurance chatbots for organizations like Religare to automate policy distribution and renewal. For your business-specific requirement, please feel free to reach us at hello@mantralabsglobal.com.

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What’s Next in Cloud Optimization? Can We Optimize Costs Without Sacrificing Performance?

Not too long ago, storing data meant dedicating an entire room to massive CPUs. Then came the era of personal computers, followed by external hard drives and USB sticks. Now, storage has become practically invisible, floating somewhere between data centers and, well, the clouds—probably the ones in the sky. Cloud computing continues to evolve, As cloud computing evolves, optimizing costs without sacrificing performance has become a real concern.  How can organizations truly future-proof their cloud strategy while reducing costs? Let’s explore new-age cloud optimization strategies in 2025 designed for maximum performance and cost efficiency.

Smarter Cloud Strategies: Cutting Costs While Boosting Performance

1. AI-Driven Cost Prediction and Auto-Optimization

When AI is doing everything else, why not let it take charge of cloud cost optimization too? Predictive analytics powered by AI can analyze usage trends and automatically scale resources before traffic spikes, preventing unnecessary over-provisioning. Cloud optimization tools like AWS Compute Optimizer and Google’s Active Assist are early versions of this trend.

  • How it Works: AI tools analyze real-time workload data and predict future cloud resource needs, automating provisioning and scaling decisions to minimize waste while maintaining performance.
  • Use case: Netflix optimizes cloud costs by using AI-driven auto-scaling to dynamically allocate resources based on streaming demand, reducing unnecessary expenditure while ensuring a smooth user experience.

2. Serverless and Function-as-a-Service (FaaS) Evolution

That seamless experience where everything just works the moment you need it—serverless computing is making cloud management feel exactly like that. Serverless computing eliminates idle resources, cutting down costs while boosting cloud performance. You only pay for the execution time of functions, making it a cost-effective cloud optimization technique.

  • How it works: Serverless computing platforms like AWS Lambda, Google Cloud Functions, and Azure Functions execute event-driven workloads, ensuring efficient cloud resource utilization while eliminating the need for constant infrastructure management.
  • Use case: Coca-Cola leveraged AWS Lambda for its vending machines, reducing backend infrastructure costs and improving operational efficiency by scaling automatically with demand. 

3. Decentralized Cloud Computing: Edge Computing for Cost Reduction

Why send all your data to the cloud when it can be processed right where it’s generated? Edge computing reduces data transfer costs and latency by handling workloads closer to the source. By distributing computing power across multiple edge nodes, companies can avoid expensive, centralized cloud processing and minimize data egress fees.

  • How it works: Companies deploy micro data centers and AI-powered edge devices to analyze data closer to the source, reducing dependency on cloud bandwidth and lowering operational costs.
  • Use case: Retail giant Walmart leverages edge computing to process in-store data locally, reducing latency in inventory management and enhancing customer experience while cutting cloud expenses.

4. Cloud Optimization with FinOps Culture

FinOps (Cloud Financial Operations) is a cloud cost management practice that enables organizations to optimize cloud costs while maintaining operational efficiency. By fostering collaboration between finance, operations, and engineering teams, FinOps ensures cloud investments align with business goals, improving ROI and reducing unnecessary expenses.

  • How it works: Companies implement FinOps platforms like Apptio Cloudability and CloudHealth to gain real-time insights, automate cost optimization, and enforce financial accountability across cloud operations.
  • Use case: Early adopters of FinOps were Adobe, which leveraged it to analyze cloud spending patterns and dynamically allocate resources, leading to significant cost savings while maintaining application performance. 

5. Storage Tiering with Intelligent Data Lifecycle Management

Not all data needs a VIP seat in high-performance storage. Intelligent data lifecycle management ensures frequently accessed data stays hot, while infrequently used data moves to cost-effective storage. Cloud-adjacent storage, where data is stored closer to compute resources but outside the primary cloud, is gaining traction as a cost-efficient alternative. By reducing egress fees and optimizing storage tiers, businesses can significantly cut expenses while maintaining performance.

  • How it’s being done: Companies use intelligent storage optimization tools like AWS S3 Intelligent-Tiering, Google Cloud Storage’s Autoclass, and cloud-adjacent storage solutions from providers like Equinix and Wasabi to reduce storage and data transfer costs.
  • Use case: Dropbox optimizes cloud storage costs by using multi-tiered storage systems, moving less-accessed files to cost-efficient storage while keeping frequently accessed data on high-speed servers. 

6. Quantum Cloud Computing: The Future-Proof Cost Gamechanger

Quantum computing sounds like sci-fi, but cloud providers like AWS Braket and Google Quantum AI are already offering early-stage access. While still evolving, quantum cloud computing has the potential to process vast datasets at lightning speed, dramatically cutting costs for complex computations. By solving problems that traditional computers take days or weeks to process, quantum computing reduces the need for excessive computing resources, slashing operational costs.

  • How it works: Cloud providers integrate quantum computing services with existing cloud infrastructure, allowing businesses to test and run quantum algorithms for complex problem-solving without massive upfront investments.
  • Use case: Daimler AG leverages quantum computing to optimize battery materials research, reducing R&D costs and accelerating EV development.

7. Sustainable Cloud Optimization: Green Computing Meets Cost Efficiency

Running workloads when renewable energy is at its peak isn’t just good for the planet—it’s good for your budget too. Sustainable cloud computing aligns operations with renewable energy cycles, reducing reliance on non-renewable sources and lowering overall operational costs.

  • How it works: Companies use carbon-aware cloud scheduling tools like Microsoft’s Emissions Impact Dashboard to track energy consumption and optimize workload placement based on sustainability goals.
  • Use case: Google Cloud shifts workloads to data centers powered by renewable energy during peak production hours, reducing carbon footprint and lowering energy expenses. 

The Next Frontier: Where Cloud Optimization is Headed

Cloud optimization in 2025 isn’t just about playing by the old rules. It’s about reimagining the game entirely. With AI-driven automation, serverless computing, edge computing, FinOps, quantum advancements, and sustainable cloud practices, businesses can achieve cost savings and high cloud performance like never before.

Organizations that embrace these innovations will not only optimize their cloud spend but also gain a competitive edge through improved efficiency, agility, and sustainability. The future of cloud computing in 2025 isn’t just about cost-cutting—it’s about making smarter, more strategic cloud investments.

At Mantra Labs, we specialize in AI-driven cloud solutions, helping businesses optimize cloud costs, improve performance, and stay ahead in an ever-evolving digital landscape. Let’s build a smarter, more cost-efficient cloud strategy together. Get in touch with us today!

Are you ready to make your cloud strategy smarter, cost-efficient, and future-ready with AI-driven, serverless, and sustainable innovations?

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