Yemisi Izuora
Google has revealed its intentions for the insurance market.
Speaking to Reuters, Nick Leeder, Google France CEO, outlined that the company wants to establish partnerships with insurance companies and certain parts of its business including Nest, which makes smoke detectors and smart thermostats.
He explained how it has already established relationships with insurers such as Allianz and AXA but that the company isn’t looking to get involved in the market directly.
“With some of the things we have done around Nest, we have been working with insurers in France like AXA and Allianz to develop bundles of products which blend technology and hardware with insurance,” he said.
“We’re clearer about the role that we can play and what we can add, and we are looking for partners.”
While Leeder made it clear that a direct insurance offering is not in the works, he did say that nothing could be completely ruled out.
“We are not a company that uses the word ‘never’ much, so it’s difficult to rule things in or out. I think there are things that we are good at and things we are not good at,” he explained.
Google has already made a relatively unsuccessful venture into insurance having recently closed its price comparison website Google Compare.
“We found it didn’t work as well as we’d like,” Leeder explained.