January 2023 – Digital transformation leaders WNS have partnered with residential property data specialists WhenFresh to launch a new AI-driven omnichannel ‘Quote & Buy’ platform in the UK, enabling home insurers to deliver improved customer experience and reduced acquisition costs.
The home insurance market in the UK has become highly commoditised, with insurers increasingly reliant on customer experience (CX) to differentiate their offerings. An insurer’s ability to make the customer’s ‘quote & buy’ journey as easy and painless as possible is often the key to winning and retaining customers, improving conversion rates and reducing acquisition costs.
The new WNS HIFFI solution enables insurers to deliver a greatly improved customer experience by providing consumers with much faster, simpler home insurance quotes across a wide range of channels, including WhatsApp, Webchat, Mobile Apps and IVR (Interactive Voice Response).
To obtain an instant, accurate home insurance quote, the consumer need only provide basic personal details and the property address via their preferred channel – then all necessary property attribute and risk data is instantly fetched from the WhenFresh API ‘behind the scenes’ without further manual input. The consumer can then easily accept the quote, make payment and choose their policy delivery preferences within the platform.
The whole process is much shorter and simpler than traditional, long-form insurance quotes, and the platform employs Artificial Intelligence (AI) to understand user intent and either resolve consumer queries or escalate to a live agent when needed.
Mark Cunningham, CEO & co-Founder of WhenFresh states “We’re delighted to be working with the WNS team and this is a perfect example of how digital transformation can be achieved by marrying cutting-edge technologies and accurate data. WhenFresh is the UK’s property data bureau, and our data already powers reduced question-sets for many leading insurers, but the WNS HIFFI solution adds the extra dimension of working across so many different channels to make the frankly rather dull process of obtaining home insurance simpler, faster and even more accessible than before.”
Whilst the customer only needs to provide a few basic contact details and the property address, HIFFI draws on over 30 property and risk attributes from WhenFresh via API, so the underwriting risk selection process is based on a comprehensive, robust dataset. HIFFI is also fully customisable and is an easily integrated, API-based plug and play solution for leading tech and underwriting platforms.
To find out more and arrange a demo, please contact WhenFresh or visit the WNS website.
About WNS (www.wns.com)
WNS is a global business, specialising in driving digital transformation for its clients across multiple sectors. In the insurance space, WNS partner with more than 55 global insurers, re-insurers, brokers and InsurTech companies to accelerate digital transformation – annually managing 30 million+ claims transactions, claims spend worth USD 13 billion and underwriting transactions over worth over USD 10 million. Our deep industry knowledge, leading-edge technology and analytical solutions, and integrated digital operating models help insurers scale faster and respond to changing market conditions. Our digital-first solutions improve risk mitigation, reduce indemnity spending, lower cost of service and enable superior customer experience.
About WhenFresh
WhenFresh is the UK’s leading supplier of residential property data to Banks, Home Insurers, Utilities, The Public Sector and other Big Data users – including 8 of the top 10 UK banks and the Bank of England. WhenFresh combines its own proprietary datasets with 100s of best-in-class private and public data sources in one place to create the UK’s “Residential Property Data Supermarket”. Via a single, simple integration, the WhenFresh API provides users with instant access individual, address-level property attribute, risk, peril, topological, geospatial, environmental, climate, market movement, ownership, title and remote valuations data, on a pay-as-you-go basis. In addition to providing raw data items, WhenFresh provides develops tailor-made, data-driven decisioning solutions and Apps for its clients and was awarded Data Enabling Solution of the Year at the DataIQ Awards 2021, as well as featuring prominently in several prestigious Top 50/Top 100 InsurTech & FinTech reports.
WhenFresh is the UK’s Residential Property Data Bureau and provides Mortgage Lenders with instant access to all the data they need to make faster, better-informed decisions throughout the full mortgage lifecycle, from initial application tight through to securitisation.
WhenFresh Decisions-as-a-Service provides instant, remote property risk assessment – complementing the credit bureau services which assess consumer credit risk – and is delivered via a suite of 4 modules:
LOOP – Equivalent to a digital ‘Property D.I.P.’ whereby each new mortgage application is instantly and remotely screened against lending rules, LTV criteria and Title issues. Typically 5-10% of applications are rejected at this stage and ‘loop’ back to the broker/applicant(s), before the lender has invested money and resource processing applications which would fail at a later stage.
PATH – Equivalent to a digital ‘Property F.M.A.’ this deep-dive, data-driven triage evaluates the property, valuation and title to assess current/future risk and inform the lender which ‘path’ to choose. This separates the 60-80% of properties where an AVM will be sufficient to move to an immediate mortgage offer, from the 20-40% where a desktop, drive-by or full physical survey of the property will be required.
WATCH – Live alerts across the portfolio to flag any issues which may impact each property’s value or risk.
WRAP – Property data enrichment to prepare & segment a mortgage book for optimum securitisation.
Each module can quickly and easily be tested against any lenders existing processes – so please click here to find out more and to book a call/demo.
22nd November 2022, London:
InsTech – which describes itself is a leading network identifying and promoting the use of the best technology, data and analytics within insurance and risk-management around the world – has launched the second in its series of major reports on property intelligence in regards to insurance, and WhenFresh are again delighted to feature prominently.
As Ali Smedley, InsTech’s Senior Research Analyst puts it in the new report’s introduction:
‘Last year we released our first property intelligence focused report, Location Intelligence 2021 – the
Companies to Watch. It covered all aspects of property intelligence including location data, property
attribute information, catastrophe modelling and remote claims assessment. This year’s report focuses
only on the “where” and “what” of property intelligence – understanding where a property is located and
what it is made of to help insurers improve risk selection, underwriting and pricing.
‘We covered remote claims in a report released earlier this year. In early 2023 our next report will focus on “what risks do I face”. In relation to property intelligence, particularly focusing on hazard data and modelling. This report reviews the latest trends and technologies in acquiring information for geocoding, building characteristics and rebuild values, as well as profiling the companies we know providing solutions in this space.’
The report is available to download for free, here.
25th October 2022: FinTech Global – leading provider of FinTech news, research, information services & events – has just published its 5th annual InsurTech100 report, featuring WhenFresh for the 2nd year running.
The InsurTech100 Report is described as “an annual list of 100 of the world’s most innovative InsurTech companies selected by a panel of industry experts and analysts… the companies every leader in the insurance industry needs to know about as they consider and develop their digital transformation strategies.”
WhenFresh CEO & Co-Founder Mark Cunningham states: “We’re delighted to have again earned our place in this prestigious annual InsurTech100 report, alongside a sparkling array of fellow innovators and disruptors in InsurTech & FinTech! Congratulations to all those who’ve been recognised this year and thanks again to the wise and learned panel of industry experts, analysts and insurers who have chosen to include us again, in such a competitive space. Our large, expanding portfolio of insurance clients are continuously challenging us to source new property-related datasets and tailor-made apps to help them make faster, better, less-risky decisions – and this helps keep up the cutting edge of innovation. We’re looking forward to another highly progressive year!”
The FinTech Global InsurTech100 2022 Report states:
“WhenFresh is an award-winning supplier of property data and related solutions, primarily to UK Home Insurers and Mortgage Lenders. It has created the UK’s “Residential Property Data Supermarket” by bringing together its own proprietary datasets with a huge range of best-in-class private & public property data sources.
Via a single, simple API integration, WhenFresh now provides users with instant access to over 2tn data items, including residential property attribute, risk, peril, topological, geospatial, environmental, climate, market and valuations data, on a pay-as-you-go basis.
WhenFresh customers include leading UK home insurers, 8 of the top 10 mortgage lenders, the Bank of England and disruptive players in insurance and lending, such as Uinsure, Locket, Twenty7Tec and MQube.
As well as supplying ‘raw’ data ingredients, WhenFresh develops customised Apps which enable insurers and lenders to interrogate its huge data assets easily and instantly via rules-based engines, to make faster, smarter, less-risky remote decisions.”
Congratulations to all the insurtech & fintech innovators featured in this influential report, which can be downloaded for free at: https://TheInsurTech100.com
To find out more about WhenFresh, try the new “Mini-Demo” below to see a selection of some of the residential property data items that leading Insurers & Mortgage Lenders most commonly call from the WhenFresh API to support their automated decisioning. WhenFresh are able to supply these data items and many, many more for virtually every residential property in the UK.
Whether you’re an in-house collections team, a DCA or a related service provider, the current “perfect storm” of rising inflation, interest rates and energy costs means that’s its more important than ever to when, where and how to focus your efforts to obtain optimum outcomes.
In each case within a portfolio, the debt amount and payment histories are known – and consumer credit reference data can be readily purchased – but this still only gives PART of the picture.
Enriching the portfolio with WhenFresh data provides instant, up-to-date insights on the PROPERTY relating to each debt: it’s value, occupation, type, size & shape, likely monthly outgoings, when/how it last transacted and other key indicators… so you a much FULLER picture to inform and optimise your collections strategy to achieve better outcomes.
For Example:
> Is the property a wholly owned or mortgaged asset – or is it a private or social-housing rental?
> What are the likely rental or mortgage payments?
> What is the value, shape and size of the property – does this match with what has been declared?
> What are the likely Council tax, electricity, gas and water outgoings for the property?
> Is the property listed for sale or rental – i.e. is there a potential flight risk?
WhenFresh can deliver all this data and much, much more… at individual property level, either via flat-file data enrichment or instantaneously via the WhenFresh API.
Click here to find out more about the full range of property-related data WhenFresh hold to inform and improve your Collections strategy.
26 July 2022: Insurance data intelligence provider, Percayso Inform, today announces a new partnership with the UK’s leading supplier of residential property data, WhenFresh, to support the further development of Percayso’s property data capabilities for providers of household and SME insurance.
WhenFresh has combined its own proprietary datasets with hundreds of best-in-class private and public data sources in one place to create the UK’s “Residential Property Data Supermarket” for the UK insurance industry, mortgage lenders and other Big Data users.
Ian Lilley, Head of Partnerships at Percayso, says: “As we extend our services into both the household and SME commercial space, we want to be able to provide not just data but also analytical intelligence to our customers. WhenFresh shares the same ethos. The WhenFresh API gives instant access to over two trillion property-specific data items and can instantly return all the property attribute, risk, perils environmental and valuations data an insurance provider needs.
“There are a lot of synergies between our businesses. Like us, they’re constantly looking to add new datasets to anticipate market demand, but more importantly are willing to share their vast experience and knowledge to help analyse and advise on bespoke customer datasets. They’re more than purely a data supplier, rather a solutions provider. We’re looking forward to building a long-lasting partnership.”
WhenFresh CEO Mark Cunningham adds: “We’re delighted to be working with Ian and the Percayso Inform team to support their growth in the home and SME insurance sectors – and we’re sure our partnership will open some very interesting doors for both parties. Like Percayso, WhenFresh is a data agnostic business, so we often hold a number of different brands of data in the same category… so the user can choose their preferred option and/or other brands to suit their needs, in whatever format they require.
“Putting vast, readily accessible data assets, alongside the analytical capabilities and tools to deliver clear business improvements, into the hands of insurers, makes this a highly compelling proposition.”
Read the full Insurance Times article here
About WhenFresh
WhenFresh is a leading supplier of residential property data to UK Insurers, Banks and other Big Data users. Combining its own proprietary datasets with 100s of best-in-class private and public data sources in one place, WhenFresh has created the UK’s “Residential Property Data Supermarket”. WhenFresh also develops tailor-made, data-driven decisioning solutions and Apps for its clients and was awarded Data Enabling Solution of the Year at the DataIQ Awards 2021, as well as featuring prominently in several prestigious Top 50/Top 100 InsurTech & FinTech reports.
About Percayso Inform
Percayso Inform’s insurance intelligence goes beyond traditional data enrichment, providing unique, real-time solutions at all stages of the insurance lifecycle and delivering a significant pricing advantage for insurance businesses.
17 June 2022: Digital broker Policy Powerhouse has launched the UK’s fastest and simplest holiday let insurance offering, powered by WhenFresh property data, meaning that holiday business owners can now obtain competitive quotes and buy buildings and contents insurance for single or multiple properties, in just a few clicks.
There are close to 200,000 UK properties in the holiday rental market but, with relatively few insurers offering this type of cover, it is a market that has long been poorly served, and shopping around for competitive quotes has, until now, been a long-winded, arduous process.
Fast, easy Holiday Let insurance – powered by WhenFresh property data
The new Policy Powerhouse platform changes this by asking the owner to answer only a handful of questions, with all necessary property attribute and risk data instantly delivered ‘behind the scenes’ by property data specialists WhenFresh, based simply on the address. The result is a fully online service that is considerably faster and simpler than ever before. Better still, owners can also insure one or more properties on a single policy, with a single policy fee and attractive discounts for multiple property cover.
CEO of Policy Powerhouse, John Bibby says, “We’re really excited to launch what we consider to be the most intuitive insurance platform on the market, which will transform the frankly rather tedious Holiday let insurance buying process, making it much faster and easier to obtain competitive pricing and a choice of coverage level to suit holiday let owners”
He goes on to explain, “Having been in the insurance market for most of our lives, we saw a gap in 4 critical areas of insurance: cost, speed of purchase, the ability to insure multiple properties on a single policy and range of products, particularly where requirements don’t quite fit the typical mould. This is where Policy Powerhouse comes in.”
The UK based digital broker, founded in 2021, aspires to bring non-standard insurance products within easy, fast, and cost-effective reach of buyers to save them time and money. Taking the hassle out of the insurance-buying process and delivering straightforward claims processes, with enhanced underwriting data and performance is core to their business model.
“Typically for non-standard insurance products like holiday let properties, owners need to hunt around for providers that offer the right protection, then undergo lengthy phone calls / processes to obtain a quote – which can ultimately end up in rejection. It can be very frustrating when you know what you want in an insurance product, but you aren’t able to purchase it easily,” explains Bibby.
Because holiday let properties can be left unoccupied for longer than 30 days and have multiple short-term tenancies, they are seen as a higher risk than standard home insurance. This means that standard home insurance policies typically do not provide adequate cover, which is where Policy Powerhouse’s holiday lets insurance fits.
The partnership with property data specialists, WhenFresh, is fundamental to making this new quote platform so fast and easy to use – as the property owner only needs to enter the address and all necessary property and risk related questions are instantly ‘pre-answered’ within the Policy Powerhouse platform, by pulling in data from the WhenFresh API. This removes the need for owners to complete lengthy, complex forms, making the process of obtaining a quote much faster and simpler.
WhenFresh CEO Mark Cunningham adds: “It’s great to see Policy Powerhouse innovating in the holiday let insurance space. WhenFresh already provides property data prefill services to many leading home insurers, to shorten and simplify the quote and buy process for consumers. So, it is refreshing to support this non-standard holiday let insurance platform, especially as these owners often live remotely from their holiday let properties. For some of the more challenging questions insurers might ask, the owner might otherwise have to make a lengthy trip to the coast, the Lake District or wherever it is located, to physically check the property! This is a great example of how smart technology and WhenFresh property data can be brought together to massively simplify and speed-up what was a complex and painful experience for buyers.”
Holiday let insurance launched in June 2022 and is the second product brought to market by Policy Powerhouse. Their first insurance product, Cancel Cover, offers holiday let owners protection against the risk of guests cancelling their bookings, allowing them to refund guests up to 95% of costs incurred and reclaim that refund via Cancel Cover. Holiday let owners can therefore compete with Online Travel Agents and protect their financial position.
COO of Policy Powerhouse, Steve Dixon, has worked on the idea behind the platform. “We envisaged a central platform where customers can manage all their insurance policies with ease, and also log their holiday booking for Cancel Cover protection. Insurance doesn’t stop when a customer has purchased, it is also about making the claims process as fast and easy as possible to reduce admin time.”
Dixon goes on the explain, “Efficient use of API’s mean that the customer experience is fast and frictionless, and our insurer partners gain enhanced insight into the risks that they accept. Our Holiday lets product is supported by A+ rated insurance capacity. Whilst we have focused upon making the platform as intuitive as possible, we recognise that some customers will need additional support, so all lines of communication are open at Policy Powerhouse, including via live chat, instant messaging, email, and phone. We are always there to support our customers and prospective customers”.
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Try the WhenFresh API Mini-Demo to get a flavour of the attribute, risk, peril, environmental, geospatial, climate and other data that WhenFresh can provide about virtually any residential property in the UK.
About WhenFresh – www.WhenFresh.com
WhenFresh is the UK’s leading supplier of residential property data to Banks, Home Insurers, Utilities, The Public Sector and other Big Data users, including 8 of the top 10 UK banks and the Bank of England.
WhenFresh combines its own proprietary datasets with 100s of best-in-class private and public data sources in one place to create the UK’s ‘Residential Property Data Supermarket’. Via a single, simple integration, the WhenFresh API provides users with instant access individual, address-level property attribute, risk, peril, topological, geospatial, environmental, climate, market movement, ownership, title, and remote valuations data, on a pay-as-you-go basis.
In addition to providing raw data items, WhenFresh develops tailor-made, data-driven decisioning solutions and Apps for its clients and was awarded Data Enabling Solution of the Year at the DataIQ Awards 2021, as well as featuring prominently in several prestigious Top 50/Top 100 Insurtech and Fintech reports.
About Policy Powerhouse – www.PolicyPowerhouse.com
Policy Powerhouse is a digital broker, offering uniquely tailored cover for non-standard requirements in the property, business, and leisure sectors. Combining more flexible, bespoke policies with advanced insurance technology, Policy Powerhouse’s next generation platform allows customers to reduce their time to obtain cover to just a few minutes.
With an executive & advisory board comprising many years’ experience at companies including AXA, RSA, AIG, Towergate and CETA, the business model constitutes a rapidly expanding product range, each with unique market offerings to fill gaps in the market. Cancel Cover and Holiday let Insurance are available with further non-standard insurance products being launched in 2022.
Customers are at the centre of the business model, ensuring that both the product and the service meets our customers very specific needs is fundamental.
The addition of MyShawbrook bridging will “streamline the entire bridging application process”, according to the lender.
Brokers will be able to access instant integrated valuation and credit-backed heads of terms. They can also instruct solicitors during the agreement in principle stage.
The portal has a maximum loan calculator so brokers can get a better understanding of how much Shawbrook can lend to customers, even if there is more than one loan requested.
Alongside the integration of WhenFresh property data, Shawbrook’s portal also has integrations with Experian, Companies House and other sources, which it says will reduce the need to input extra data and documentation. Read more…
Nottingham, UK, 15 February 2022
● WhenFresh and Connected Data partnership will inject valuable property related insight into key processes to enable timely and more appropriate customer engagement
● WhenFresh, creators of the UK’s ‘residential property data bureau’, is the latest leading UK data provider to partner with Connected Data
UK households are facing a ‘cost of living’ crisis and organisations across all sectors are preparing for record levels of debt. These organisations are striving to better understand where and when debt will occur, and to ensure they treat customers fairly whilst looking to resolve their arrears.
WhenFresh, an award-winning supplier of property data and related solutions to the UK’s leading home insurers, mortgage lenders, public sector and other big data users, has partnered with data driven technology company, Connected Data, to provide a valuable dimension to the way debt is understood and managed by organisations in the UK.
WhenFresh has created what it refers to as the UK’s ‘residential property data bureau’ by combining over 200 proprietary, private and public UK datasets (e.g. residential property attributes, risk, peril, topological, geospatial, environmental, climate, market and remote valuations data) with advanced analytics, all in one place.
With the aim of achieving positive engagement and fairer outcomes for indebted customers, this exciting partnership will enable organisations to better understand an individual’s circumstances and potential level of affordability through property related data. WhenFresh’s address level insight will enhance the in-depth intelligence Connected Data already provides on individuals, powered by its relationship with several leading data providers.
Paul Rout, Senior Vice President at WhenFresh, said: “The UK’s leading home insurers, mortgage lenders and disruptors to the market see the significant value of the insight we provide in their lending decisions and insurance quotes. We also recognise the potential of these residential property data assets in the management of debt, and their specific role in timely and appropriate engagement. Combining property data with traditional debt management data assets creates powerful insights into debtors’ circumstances, a process which Connected Data are very well placed to do.
“Connected Data is already disrupting the way UK organisations manage debt with a clear focus on ensuring positive outcomes for all parties. They were the natural choice for us as a partner and we are excited about the positive impact our partnership will have.”
Kirk Fletcher, Founder and CEO of Connected Data, said: “Our goal is to enable organisations to engage with their customers in an informed way with as much relevant insight on their circumstances as possible. It will always enable a better conversation and a fairer debt journey for the customer, as well as optimise an organisation’s processes.
“WhenFresh’s data provides a new and vital element to an organisation’s understanding of its customers’ circumstances. And they have a clear mission to ensure the person at the end is treated fairly. We are delighted to be partnering with them.”
As the latest data partner to work with Connected Data, the partnership with WhenFresh continues to highlight how the company is bringing innovation to the way organisations manage their debt portfolios. By integrating different datasets from multiple leading data providers, not only is Connected Data enabling organisations to achieve the most in-depth insight possible, but it is removing ‘data noise’ – a significant barrier for organisations seeking to better understand and connect with their customers.
Read more at CCR Magazine
About Connected Data
Connected Data transforms an organisation’s insight across its debt management process, simplifying the deployment of predictive data, removing data noise and identifying opportunities to prevent and reduce debt across its organisation. Connected Data works in partnership with UK leading data solutions providers to truly data enable debt management processes.
About WhenFresh
WhenFresh is a leading supplier of data to Financial Service sector, public sector and other Big Data users, including 8 of the top 10 UK banks and the Bank of England. WhenFresh has built the UK’s “Residential Property Data Bureau”, by bringing together over 200 proprietary, private and public UK data sources in one place. Via a single, simple integration, the WhenFresh API provides users with instant access property attribute, risk, peril, topological, geospatial, environmental, climate, market movement, ownership and remote valuations data, on a pay-as-you-go basis. WhenFresh were awarded Data Enabling Solution of the Year at the DataIQ Awards 2021 and feature prominently in a number of prestigious “Top 100” FinTech and InsurTech reports.
Leading UK residential property data specialists WhenFresh has launched its new MortgageChecker solution, which enables lenders and brokers to significantly streamline mortgage application processing, to provide faster, better service to customers, as well as saving time and money.
On receipt of each new application, the lender simply accesses their MortgageChecker App and enters the:
> Property Address
> Agreed Sale Price
> Requested Mortgage Amount
In real-time, MortgageChecker then interrogates WhenFresh’s vast property data assets and remote valuation tools to instantly screen the property against lending rules and LTV criteria, as well as checking for any potential Title issues, such as flying freehold or restrictive covenants.
MortgageChecker then immediately returns a result for each mortgage application, based on a traffic light system:
GREEN – PROCEED DIRECT TO LEND – Where the property clearly and fully meets lending rules and LTV criteria, the lender make an immediate mortgage offer (using an AVM valuation if needed), with no need for a physical property inspection/valuation.
AMBER – PROCEED, SUBJECT TO STANDARD SURVEY – Where the property is a border-line pass of lending rules and LTV criteria, or where MortgageChecker identifies potential issues, the lender should “proceed with caution” using a standard or desktop survey.
RED – BEWARE, SIGNIFICANT ISSUES IDENTIFIED – Where the property falls outside the lending rules and/or LTV criteria, MortgageChecker highlights the issue to the lender so they can make an informed decision as to whether and how to proceed before incurring costs.
To find out more and book your demo, visit https://www.whenfresh.com/service/mortgage-checker/