Recent job adverts had indicated that the world’s leading e-commerce company Amazon.com Inc. is looking to expand its already huge nascent European product insurance business. Industry analysts had been quick to tag this development as the beginning of even bigger ambition in insurance by the company.
The sector of the company, Amazon Protect was established with the sole purpose of extending manufacturer’s warranties on their products such as mobile phones or washing machines. This initiative was launched by the company last year and from the looks of it, Amazon is looking to expand that division.
Amazon protects also happens to be the company’s only insurance business globally. From the recent job adverts, descriptions such as launching a new business” and “creating a new palette of services” have been picked up and it is an indication that the company is expanding that sector.
Patricia Davies, financial services analyst at data and analytics firm GlobalData commenting on the issue stated that “This is a sure sign disruption is on the way for the UK insurance market.” when contacted, a spokesman for Amazon UK declined to make comment on the job post.
There is also a growing sense of concerns amongst specialist insurers that Amazon and other online players will venture into their territory, thus they are looking to partner with them before that happens.
Amazon protect was established in Britain back in April last year, with the move quickly expanding the company’s main European markets such as France, Germany, Italy, and Spain. The policies adopted by Amazon protect has made it possible for customers to have a minimum of two years and a maximum of five years on warranties, with issues such as accidental damage, breakdown, and theft all covered in the warranty.
The head of the warranty Group who is in charge of policies adopted by Amazon protect was not available to make any comments on the development. The job adverts were posted on LinkedIn and “Where Women Work” by Amazon over the past few weeks.
A job advert posted by the company reads, “Along with internal and external partners, we are re-defining the warranties and product insurance experience, disrupting the way traditional product insurance services are acquired and delivered and creating a new palette of services.
