Getsafe CEO and founder Christian Wiens recently responded to the coronavirus pandemic by touting the benefits his and other InsurTechs can offer the insurance industry now and in the months ahead.

“The losses and costs resulting from the outbreak of coronavirus are estimated to be in the enormous sum of four trillion U.S. dollars – but we don’t see this as reason to panic,” said Wiens, who runs an InsurTech MGA based in Germany that operates in areas including home and rental insurance as well as contents and liability coverage.

Wiens’ statement, which the company distributed by email, said that InsurTechs’ “mobile-first approach, technical infrastructure and direct sales” are “protected against the crisis” and also a promising business model, especially during a period where human contact must be minimized at least temporarily.

“The developments surrounding coronavirus could therefore even be described as a catalyst for InsurTechs,” Wiens said. “Crises reveal how strong a digital business model is. And coronavirus, in particular, demonstrates the extent of the technological lead over traditional insurers.”

Wiens goes on to argue that while the coronavirus transcends borders, so does technology, which can help society function during periods like the coronavirus pandemic.

“More than ever before – and we’ve been saying this for a long time – there is now a realistic opportunity to build a truly global company in the insurance sector where sales are 100 percent digital,” he said. “We have built the platform to achieve exactly that. Our platform enables us to run all processes for any type of insurance product in real time and across multiple currencies and languages and to quickly launch new markets.”

Why did Wiens issue his statement? A company spokesperson explained that the origins stem, in part, from timing of multiple things.

“We are in the middle of fundraising and everyone is alarmed right now” about the evolving coronavirus pandemic, the spokesperson said. She also noted that because of contagion concerns, venture capitalists and journalists alike are postponing onsite visits to startups.

With that in mind, Getsafe has gotten queries as to how it is reacting to the coronavirus, so the decision was made to issue the statement.

“We strongly believe that the coronavirus, as bad as it is, will accelerate the digital transformation, and that might be a benefit for InsurTechs, which are built on a digital business model from the start,” she added. “While a global recession will certainly affect many industries, InsurTechs might even benefit from this shift toward digital insurance solutions.”

[Photo is of Getsafe CEO Christian Wiens, courtesy of Getsafe.]