Ernest North

With their insider knowledge of insurance locally and globally, Ernest and his two partners identified two ways in which the old-school model would struggle to adapt to consumer needs in the future.
The first was that you cannot build an automated, self-service customer experience on a legacy system designed for one human talking to another.
The second was divorcing the insurer’s profit from the claim value the customer gets.

Most of the assumptions that underpinned Naked’s bold move into a fully online customer experience proved to be accurate.
Ernest and his partners succeeded in building a world-class team in record time, which enabled marketing that was consistent with the brand and the impact they wanted to build.
COVID was a blessing in disguise as the changes it brought to how people lived their lives made it easier for consumers to embrace a fully digital insurance journey.

Naked as a name and a brand started with the business model design, which was all about taking away layers, costs, frustration and conflicts of interest.
In searching for a word that best described their creation, the three partners realised that 'naked' was it.
As a bonus, it was also a catchy name that consumers found easy to remember.

The biggest challenge for three technical design actuaries was making peace with the need to spend money on marketing the business they’ve designed.
The challenge of building a new brand in an industry that has a poor reputation was daunting.
Ernest personally had to step away from wanting to expose the wrongs in the traditional industry and instead focus on the new insurance journey that Naked delivers.

Naked’s name is also the core value of the business, ie, doing things clearly, simply and transparently.
In all its communication, Naked states that it is a modern business, newly created to meet the needs of modern consumers.
In making insurance simple and easy, Naked is also a brand that is human.

Public relations can be a powerful brand-building tool if it is used to contribute to conversations in the news through really good content.
Entrepreneurs put their own reputations on the line by selling themselves as much as their businesses.
The biggest thing Naked got right was to create a product that people are telling their friends to buy.

The decision to spend money on advertising was strategically motivated by a clear business case.
Naked uses traditional advertising channels, such as radio and billboards, to signal credibility and size.
Social media advertising was introduced to reach people shopping for asset financing and insurance in a direct and far more cost-effective way.

Never try to tell your entire brand story in one piece of communication, especially if it’s an ad.
Pick your audience, the pain point you want to address and the best way to land the message.
Naked’s clear and simple communication philosophy is consistent with the overall Naked way of doing business.

The outsourcing decision depends on who is going to be working on the brand.
For outsourcing to work, the brand has to be codified into a brand manual or equivalent document that sets out the brand boundaries.
For Naked it works best to have an in-house team that is entrenched in the brand, its values and its customers.

The user experience is about the user, not about making things look pretty.
Naked invests time and effort to make the insurance journey simple, clear and easy.
When people take the time to do their insurance, they have to feel that stress has been removed from their lives.

Ernest North reveals his secret ingredient.