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Technology
June 15, 2023

TFG reboots insurance platform with local start-up Root

By: The Foschini Group (TFG)

TFG (The Foschini Group) has started moving its insurance book onto Cape Town-based start-up Root’s digital policy administration system. This has changed how TFG develops, markets, sells and manages insurance policies for its existing store card account holders.

The move is aimed at broadening financial inclusion in the South African market by making a wider range of financial services products accessible to its customers through TFG’s extensive stores network.

Khim Franciscus, product manager at TFG Insurance, says Root has changed the work lives of the group’s insurance staff. “The platform allows our customers to easily access their insurance policies, make claims, and pay their premiums, all in real-time. For our employees, the entire customer journey can be managed through one interface. Before, our back-office processes required us to work across multiple platforms with disparate spreadsheets and reports.

“Now, we manage the full policy lifecycle on one system, from quote generation to policy administration, premium collection, reporting, claims and more. Instead of focusing on admin, we spend our time prioritising customer satisfaction and building stronger customer relationships,” Franciscus says.

TFG Insurance has been offering its customers insurance since 1994 and is underwritten by GuardRisk, which is already an entrenched part of Root’s partner network.

Through its national footprint of more than 3,500 stores and 34 brands, including Jet, Markham, @home, Sportscene and Sterns, the Group offers life and non-life cover in various combinations – for portables like cellphones and jewellery, health, accident and death cover, and for unforeseen lifestyle expenses such as legal costs and loss of income.

“Our focus has always been on creating a product set that is easy to understand, meets our customers’ needs, and is underpinned by simplified underwriting,” says Gareth Jones, Head of TFG Insurance. “We make essential products more affordable for the low- to middle-income mass market.”

Root is a low-code, end-to-end insurance platform that powers universally programmable insurance products, digital sales channels, digital insurance operations, and the ecosystem around this. With integrated APIs, it allows for automated workflows that get rid of time-consuming manual tasks and resulting in increased efficiency.

“We use APIs to help businesses like TFG to launch insurance products faster than the traditional way,” says Charlotte Koep, chief operating officer at Root. “The infrastructure has been designed with TFG’s existing customers in mind. With a single view of customers, TFG can now drive greater revenue and operational efficiency through its existing financial services products and easily build, sell and service new products without technical barriers. The platform enables direct communication with customers in real-time so that they are kept informed at every step of the way, whether they are signing up, making a claim or requesting assistance.”

TFG has been investigating re-platforming and innovation for its insurance platforms as its customers’ needs evolved. TFG published an RFP to identify a partner, and Root proved to be the best fit for the business. The project has provided TFG with flexible pricing structures and the capability to easily build products that bundle solutions for customers according to individual risk.

“People have different requirements according to age and life stage, and they are demanding targeted solutions based on need and affordability,” says Jones. “With Root on board, we can build a comprehensive product offering for consumers who historically have not had access to these types of products and who are not comfortable dealing with big insurance companies that cater to the high-end market.”

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