What’s in a name?

When you’re responsible for the regional expansion of a relatively new company, called iptiQ, the question of names is often raised. If I had a dollar for every time I was asked what iptiQ means or how to pronounce it, well, I’d have almost a hundred dollars.

It does, however, beg the question: what’s in a name anyway?

For all intents and purposes, per se, a name is a label. A tool through which we categorize and define. It helps us work out what something is and, perhaps more importantly, what something isn’t. Names help us navigate the vast sea of information and aid the transfer knowledge. Implicitly connoting complex issues, explicitly denoting the unfamiliar, and mitigating the need for detailed explanations like this.

Names help us decide who and what to trust.

If I say Switzerland, for example, you’ll form certain geographical, economical, and cultural associations. The Alps. Banking. Neutrality. Safety and certitude. Precision horology. Pragmatism. A commitment to efficiency, quality, and reliability. Maybe you think of Roger Federer, who embodies many of those national traits. Maybe you think of chocolate. You wouldn’t be alone.

In commercial or marketing parlance, names are brands. A collection of rational, practical, and emotional assets that suggest associations and create images and in the mind of the consumer. Nike. Apple. Federer. It’s how we identify and differentiate one brand from another. A name means or promises something to people. And everything under that name, we assume, is imbued with common attributes. We trust it to perform or respond in a certain way. Knowledge, perception, and value of a name builds equity, influencing responses to the brand and earning a distinct position in the market.

A name itself, however, doesn’t necessarily mean anything, does it?

The equities, associations and experiences with a brand, over time, are what give it meaning. What we become is, perhaps, as important as what we are.

When it comes to iptiQ (it’s pronounced ip-tee-queue by the way), telling people it’s Swiss can sometimes be enough. Ah, they reply, as if that explains everything. Name recognition and positive associations can be powerful things, like a surname. Your family says a lot about you. To that end, our Swiss Re pedigree might tell others all they need to know. Reliability, integrity, transparency, accuracy and proven performance over more than a century.

What I can tell you is that iptiQ, literally, doesn’t mean anything. Anecdotally, that’s why it was chosen. Like Qwerty, it’s a collection of letters.

How very Swiss, you might say.

In terms of brand and equity, however, iptiQ is meaning more to more people. We are becoming what we have chosen to become. We have found that which gives us meaning.

iptiQ is committed to closing the protection gap. We’re making insurance more accessible, relevant, and impactful. And we're doing it digitally. We don’t have to make the digital transformation. That’s how we started. It’s already at the heart of everything we do. End to end, from research to automated, transparent underwriting, to claims and payouts. Digital is as digital does.

What’s in a name?

iptiQ’s B2B2C model presents scalable platforms that can be plugged into our partners’ platforms. From auto insurance to online shopping insurance, health and wealth, the experience of acquiring protection is simpler and more customised than ever.

Based on advanced analytics, and deep analysis to big data, iptiQ’s insights are actionable. They lead to truly innovative risk solutions. Advanced security technologies and adherence to Swiss Re compliance requirements, which are much higher than market standards, by the way, ensure the highest levels of data protection.

What’s in a name?

A DNA borne of Swiss quality, reliability, efficiency, and world-class underwriting, means iptiQ is trusted and building trust in digital platforms. And that, of course, is the key to unlocking opportunities, realizing potential, and accelerating the growth that insurtech facilitates.

Digital trust.

There’s a name for that, as well, you know.

We call it iptiQ.

And now, you know it too.