‘Telcoassurance’ – the next revenue trend-in-waiting?

The biggest names in European telecoms have agreed that monetisation has been a major struggle. When examined side-by-side, overall revenue growth is simply at odds with the increase in overall market share. Operators seem to agree that focusing on use cases rather than technologies themselves is crucial when it comes to opening up new revenue streams.

Enter embedded finance. Integrating financial services into telecoms offerings means they can enhance customer engagement and retention while generating additional cash. This is the basis for telcoassurance.

Insurance helping European telcos boost revenue outcomes

Beyond the elaborate portmanteau, telcoassurance involves telecommunications operators tapping into the insurance market. This integration typically thrives on mobile and digital channels, where customers can easily subscribe to, manage, and claim insurance products, creating convenience and trust in underserved markets.

This is significant because the GSMA reports that over half (54%) of the global population—about 4.3 billion people—now own smartphones. Leveraging insurance is not usually a first choice for telcos, however, insurance is the fastest-growing add-on service among mobile money providers.

Because operators are in a lose-lose arm wrestle for market share, telcos are shifting focus to new businesses that offer new revenues,  built on the foundation of their strong networks. They will begin to compete on a more extensive portfolio of services rather than coverage, speed, and pricing which can be a race towards the bottom. A new business model will provide an opportunity for differentiation, revenue, and subscriber growth.

Operators need to look at telcoassurance as more of an entryway to extend into other markets and a key lever in the battle for monetisation.

The revenue assurance telecoms operators need to hear

How can embedded finance—and in this case, embedded insurance—play well for operators looking to explore new ways to generate cash?

Telecoms companies can leverage their existing digital platforms to offer seamless insurance services, as consumers have more expectations for omnichannel engagements. To make sure insurance is not just another touchpoint, services have to be personalised – we know from research that 80% of consumers prefer companies that offer tailored experiences, but only 5% of telecom providers fully use data-driven personalisation. Operators can leverage their existing customer data to offer tailored insurance products, beyond traditional policies, to their customers.

If the purpose of remodelling is revenue growth and retention, the focus must be on proactive customer engagement and experience. Cross-selling opportunities, where customers are constantly offered personalised and highly competitive products can help to reduce churn rates.

Embedded finance makes the case for telcoassurance

The push for telcoassurance can be helped by a certain familiarity, in the sense that there are commercial examples of successful telco and financial service provider collaboration. Telecom operators have been expanding into financial services, starting with transactional activities like payments and mobile wallets. Telcoassurance is the next natural step.

Technology integration has increased in salience every year, at least since the popularisation of IoT, AI tech and its applications. Integrating insurance is not just going where the wind blows but following the natural course. In this case, reshaping telecoms business models presents a promising opportunity to boost revenues. If global integration is not showing signs of slowing, telcoassurance can prove to be a strategic leveller for sustainable growth.