Introduction
Our newest advisory board member, Marcus Nagel, is a proven leader in the financial services and insurance industries. He has over 30 years of experience in the insurance market as Founder & CEO at 3Arrow AG, CEO of Zurich Group Germany, and Board Director of Jupiter International Group.
He currently serves as Non-Executive Director and Advisor for several leading insurance companies, as well as for Jarowa AG (a fast-growing insurtech company specializing in claims management).
The interview
Q.
Tarci is a fast-growing startup. Can you tell us a bit more about your experience working with startups and other young businesses?
A.
In my last corporate leadership role, I was always looking for ways to drive efficiencies within the insurance industry and to find strategic solutions to meet our clients’ evolving needs. I get very excited about new opportunities, particularly when it comes to data solutions and technology. So, when I left my role as CEO, I reached out to some of the most promising insurtechs that I had worked with. As a business angel and an advisor, my job is to help these innovators kick start their businesses and build a network on the distribution side, and to coach them through their different stages of development.
Just before the new year, we asked Marcus for his thoughts on how Tarci can grow as a valued partner to businesses in the insurance industry.
Q.
Why is the Tarci solution important for companies who want to target small and mid-sized businesses in a profitable manner?
A.
I know first-hand how difficult it is to make money selling insurance products to small and mid-sized businesses. Everyone talks about the opportunity that exists in the growing SMB sector, but the lack of available data makes it a challenging market with a high risk of low profitability.
When I first connected with Tarci, I got really excited about the company’s unique approach to dynamic SMB data. In fact, I thought it was a total game-changer. Having visibility into the rapidly-changing needs of SMBs means you can serve them better and increase sales efficiency while reducing churn.
Q.
Since your area of expertise is in the insurance industry, what benefits does Tarci provide specifically to companies in this sector?
A.
I can see many ways that an insurance company could benefit from the Tarci solution. As an example, think about how social media signals are analyzed by the retail sector. When retailers connect with their clients based on their social media activity, that connection is more authentic – which then leads to a better and longer-lasting business relationship with that client.
Tarci takes a similar approach on the distribution side. By detecting events and change triggers in SMBs, Tarci gives insurance companies the real-time intelligence they need to reach out to clients. With tailored, purposeful messaging that addresses challenges created by trigger events (for example, opening a new location or hiring more staff), the conversation is relevant and helpful to the client, and establishes trust between the client and the insurer.
Dynamic data can also lead to improvement in your NPS score. In general, insurance companies struggle to improve NPS scores, because clients tend to buy an insurance policy and then never look at it again until they have a claim or it’s time to renew. With Tarci data, if you see a trigger event occurring at an SMB, then you have a real reason to call them. By increasing the frequency of touchpoints and demonstrating knowledge of their business, you build credibility with your client – which gives you a good chance at improving your NPS scores.
Q.
Do you see Tarci being most effective when implemented on the agent level, or at the company level?
A.
You really need both. If you want to increase the effectiveness of your team, then your best bet is to use the tools that Tarci provides at both the agent level and the head office level.
Giving your team great tools and great data will help them do their best work – but a balance of autonomy and oversight is key. You need to ensure the team is integrated and the information is transparent. That’s especially true if you’re managing a large network of people sitting in different offices all over the world!
As a company, you get unbiased, factual data from Tarci. You can use that data to form high-level strategies and make informed decisions. Your sales team is getting the same triggers, so you can use it to lead weekly field sales discussions about activities and actions related to those identified sales opportunities. “Did you hear about this? Did you do that?” – that sort of thing. It’s a very useful tool across all levels.
Q.
Tarci wants to grow as a company by being perceived as a partner, the smart data partner. Do you think companies in the insurance sector are eager for this kind of data partnership?
A.
Yes, from young startups to very large insurtechs, there is absolutely a market for the kind of business intelligence solution that Tarci provides. There are a lot of companies that only collect certain data from a certain platform, which limits their view of their clients. The uniqueness of Tarci is that it collects data from diversified sources.
And because the data Tarci collects is all public, there’s no question about GDPR compliance here, which of course is very important for regulated businesses like banks and insurance. Just as an example, one very large, very successful insurtech that I worked with recently said to me that they want specific data about their client, but they don’t want to ask their client for it – they want to get the data indirectly, as well as cohesively and transparently. Well, Tarci does exactly that.
I believe there is a big market for that kind of diversified, continuous business intelligence – in fact, I think the market will only continue to grow – and Tarci is in a great position to respond to that need.
About Tarci
Tarci connects hundreds of data sources to create a unified view of SMBs worldwide, highlighting real-time indications of opportunities throughout the customer lifecycle. Our continuous intelligence engine refreshes data weekly, providing relevant and timely insights into immediate business needs.
