Sigo Seguros Q&A: Insurtech serving the Hispanic community

June 8, 2023 6:21 AM

Person with a hand on a steering wheel driving a car.

Digital Insurance interviewed Nestor Solari, CEO and founder of Sigo Seguros, to learn more about the obstacles that Hispanic and Latino consumers face in purchasing insurance and the technology solutions available that address these issues. Read our previous coverage of Solari and his company.

What are the common barriers that people in the Hispanic community face when purchasing insurance? What steps has Sigo taken to ensure accessible and equitable insurance coverage for Hispanic and Latino customers?

There are several barriers that the Hispanic community faces when purchasing insurance, these include language, transparency and overpricing. We have taken several steps to remove these barriers and in doing so we have created the first product of its kind to offer services that benefit the Hispanic community as a whole, this includes the undocumented population that is a big part of this community.

Language is probably one of the biggest barriers that the Hispanic community has to face. Historically they have enlisted family members, including their children, to be a translator or they have to go to brokers who charge fees up to $300 in order to help them buy auto insurance. At Sigo Seguros we created the first company to offer 100% bilingual solutions, from the quoting tool, to the onboarding process, to the customer service, everything is offered in both Spanish and English.

When we talk about transparency we are not just talking about price transparency, which we offer, but also about education around insurance. We have a mission to create the largest knowledge depository in Spanish for U.S. auto insurance, and we are well on our way to achieving this goal. We provide educational blogs, newsletters and social media posts that help, not only our customers but, anyone who needs to understand the confusing parts of insurance.

Traditional insurance providers have taken advantage of Hispanic consumers with pricing. Most insurers calculate their pricing based on credit score, level of education and type of employment, all of which disproportionately impact this population. At Sigo Seguros we have removed these biased ratings that are not really necessary to provide accessible and equitable coverage. Additionally, these companies will charge extra fees that make insurance more expensive for the Hispanic population, these fees include the broker fee that I previously mentioned, as well as cancelation, credit-card payment, changes, out of state or out of country licenses, and many other fees. We do not charge any of these fees.

How does technology enable more accessible insurance opportunities for the Hispanic community?

At Sigo Seguros we have brought the Spanish speaking community to the 21st century.

Historically, this community has not been offered auto insurance that is able to quote, onboard, and provide continued services in Spanish. Through technology we have given access to millions of people in the U.S. who prefer Spanish as their main language of communication. Through technology we are able to offer a streamlined digital experience for our customers, including the ability to purchase insurance online or through our mobile app.

What unique solutions does Sigo provide that are tailored to serve Hispanic and Latino customers?

Our biggest differentiator is the ability to provide an end-to-end Spanish and English solution. With just this we have created a solution that is focused on serving the Hispanic community. However, we have gone above just offering our product in Spanish, we have also created a product that removes biased rating factors like credit score, level of education, and type of work from our pricing model, and we have removed predatory fees that increase the average monthly payments for people.

Over the next five years, we will continue to invest in technology to improve our digital capabilities and provide a seamless experience for our customers across new geographies.