Through Mercado Pago's digital channels, consumers will be able to acquire life insurance with face value of up to BRL 150,000 ($28,832) within minutes.
"If we look at insurance, we've been doing it the same way for a long time. We and all the partners have been really looking to find a way to bring this closer to consumers and to make it more tangible and more understandable," Mueller said. "A simplified product and a distribution channel that is extremely efficient — we think this is a great combination for people to look at and say yes, this is a product that makes sense. And it's in a size and an amount that I can also afford it. So that's what excites me about this one."
Brazil is a step ahead of other countries...but we see this same trend going across the entire region.
In February, Swiss Re led the pre-Series A investment round of Latin American InsurTech Klimber Latam Corp., which developed the technology for the acquisition of digital life insurance, Mueller said. The dollar amount wasn't disclosed, but the purpose of the investment was to "harvest more business opportunities and bring more product to the market," he said.
At the time, Mueller said they hoped to have the first product launched this year. "So we we're quite excited that we're at this point now."
Klimber said it will use its fully automated, API based platform to manage the full policy life cycle to enable Mercado Libre's digital wallet, Mercado Pago, a 100% digital online experience with claims paid in under one hour.
"This partnership is the first step to further expand our regional presence with solutions that combine our expertise in insurance and technology with Mercado Libre's large customer base," Cristiano Saab, country manager of Klimber in Brazil, said in a statement.
Prudential, Brazil’s biggest individual life insurer, is the issuer of the policy, which is reinsured by Swiss Re. Swiss Re is also providing its know-how and expertise in innovation on a global scale.
The product is now available in Brazil, which accounts for 44% of the Latin American insurance market. "Brazil is the biggest prize in Latin America," Mueller said. "There's an underlaying trend of having a society that is much more willing to buy digital, and a society where a protection gap for life is increasing."
With an initial focus in life and personal protection, the products offer automatic contracting, streamlined underwriting, and claims resolution in less than an hour.
Mueller said there's great potential to roll out the digital product to other countries in Latin America, as well as introduce other products to the platform.
"Brazil is a step ahead of other countries, given what the online banks have done, but we see this same trend going across the entire region," Mueller said.
