European carmakers are spending billions on over-the-air updates, voice assistants and online checkouts to keep up with a connected, convenience-driven market. Yet one critical part of the driver’s journey – and a vital operational lever for fleet operators – still feels stuck in the past: insurance.
This gap matters more than ever in a politically charged, digitally driven market. Trade tensions are prompting a strategic rethink among global carmakers: in the UK, nearly six in ten motorists now avoid brands caught up in tariff disputes – a behavioural shift that travels quickly through social feeds to the rest of Europe. Meanwhile, Asian OEMs are gaining ground. Analysts estimate that European carmakers could lose over €7 billion in annual net profit by 2030, largely due to shrinking domestic market share.
For European OEMs, the best defence is a stronger home market presence – but any friction at this stage risks turning hesitation into lost sales. In this climate, every moment with the customer carries weight – and for both private buyers and fleet operators, insurance is often the first real test of a brand’s promise after purchase.
Recent conversations with automotive executives highlight a stubborn pain point: insurance teams still rely on outdated portals, manual proofs and fragmented systems that can’t keep up with real-time digital car sales. Meanwhile, regulatory patchwork forces teams to rebuild compliance market by market, turning every European launch into a months-long exercise. And as EVs cut workshop visits, insurers and OEMs lose vital after-sales contact that once anchored customer loyalty.
Without seamless post-purchase protection, every other digital upgrade rings hollow. Insurance experiences remain one of the few levers left to boost customer acquisition and engagement — yet too many carmakers still lack the technology and mindset to pull it off.
Fragmented systems stall digital scale
Legacy portals and manual processes can’t keep up with real-time digital sales. What should be a single, seamless checkout becomes a web of disclaimers, redirects and paperwork – and too many OEM insurance teams struggle with this kind of infrastructure.
Regulatory hurdles compound the problem: every European market carries its own licensing rules, capital requirements and disclosure obligations. For brands, every new market still demands its own legal groundwork – transforming what could be a quick, unified rollout into a patchwork of parallel regulatory projects that slow momentum.
This friction isn’t just an internal headache – it risks being felt by buyers too. The promise of a modern, digital-first brand quickly fades when the insurance step feels slow, opaque or out of sync with the rest of the journey. And in a market where loyalty already hangs by a thread, that gap can turn interest into hesitation and, ultimately, lost sales.
EV disruption widens the service gap
Electric vehicles add another layer to the struggle traditional carmakers face in maintaining their core competitive advantage. EVs contain far fewer moving parts than their diesel predecessors, and most improvements now arrive as over-the-air software updates. With no oil to change and far fewer mechanical checks, fleet managers have little reason to visit the dealership. That shift erodes the after-sales contact that once anchored customer loyalty and bundled financial services.
Without regular service stamps, the fleet policy – and increasingly, the insurance experience – becomes one of the few recurring touchpoints between vehicle and brand. Yet if that policy still relies on outdated portals and postal proofs, the gap widens rather than closes. Telematics sensors already feed mileage, charge cycles and driving style straight to manufacturer clouds. Linking those streams to a dynamic, usage-based premium would feel natural to procurement teams, yet this isn’t common practice.
There is an opportunity for OEMs to align insurance flows with the constant flow of their vehicles’ data. Without this car-to-insurance integration, they risk ceding the relationship to nimble, app-native competitors who treat every kilometre as insight rather than liability.
Embedded ecosystems reclaim loyalty
But it’s been extremely challenging for automotive players to build digital, reasonably priced insurance programs – especially when there are new types of vehicles, brands and usage patterns that call for more flexibility. Simultaneously, regulatory fragmentation has consistently made it difficult for OEMs to harmonise insurance experience across Europe.
The fix already exists in the same codebase powering your remote seat heaters. By partnering with an insurer supported by an insurtech platform that provides a single, cross-border API – already mapped to pan-European regulations and built for real-time quoting, binding and claims – OEMs can launch compliant cover in weeks, not years.
A Dutch fleet operator who orders online at midnight sees protection activated before the charge cable clicks in; a week later, when the vans cross the Alps, the certificates update automatically to reflect Austrian liability limits. For fleet managers, that seamlessness safeguards total cost of ownership by slashing downtime and trimming the admin hours spent chasing cross-border paperwork. That magic relies on rigorous regulatory mapping that the platform hides from view.
Each claim loops back to factory engineers as high-quality field data, helping refine designs and reduce risk. Dynamic, usage-based pricing keeps premiums competitive. And because repairs flow to OEM-authorised centres, insurers help safeguard warranty standards and unlock new after-sales revenue. Essentially, every approved service visit becomes a chance to update, upsell, or reinforce brand loyalty – turning insurance from a sunk cost into a recurring touchpoint that brings vehicles home.
Consumers and fleet procurement teams alike now expect the same frictionless journey they find in music or banking apps; they will not tolerate a policy that lags behind their navigation system. So, the ongoing test for OEMs lies in keeping customers engaged well beyond the showroom floor. In a politically charged, digitally driven market, European manufacturers who embed seamless, compliant insurance don’t just keep pace – they pull ahead of trade shifts, regulatory hurdles, and EV disruption. Because every mile strengthens insight, every update improves protection, and every successful claim deepens trust.
Author: Quentin Colmant, CEO & Co-Founder at Qover
