We spoke to Dr. Quinton Goddard, Head of Solutions and Sustainability for SquareTrade Europe. An astronomer turned strategy consultant, Quinton has over a decade helping the financial services sector integrate sustainability into their strategies. Here, he discusses the role of sustainability in Insurtech and beyond.
How would you define sustainability in the Insurtech industry?
The insurance industry has not faced severe sustainability scrutiny like other industries such as energy or aerospace. Insurance has been seen more of a service, a financial tool to mitigate and mutualise risk. The insurance industry can still take a broad view of sustainability, starting with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.
The insurtech industry does have a unique opportunity with regard to sustainability, by reimagining insurance products and how claims are serviced insurtech firms act as real innovators in an industry that has been slow to evolve its core products.
This innovation has the power to influence consumer behaviour with impacts for sustainability, nudging them to make more sustainable decisions, or influencing behaviour to mitigate future claims and thus reducing resources needed to service claims. This is true across all types of insurance be it automotive, health, or even device insurance in which SquareTrade specialises.
The real benefit for insurtech firms is that these innovations both provide a positive sustainability impact, while also delivering a competitive advantage and business value.
In what ways is SquareTrade driving innovation to enhance sustainability within the insurance industry?
At SquareTrade, it’s a multifaceted approach, as sustainability has a bearing impact across all avenues of the business. As a leading insurer for devices, a key focus for us is device lifestyle management. We offer insurance plans that prioritise repair over replacement, thereby reducing the demand for new device protection.
We believe driving towards a circular economy is key for driving sustainable practices. Consumers want to make sustainable choices but we know the devices that are critical to our day to day lives carry a heavy sustainability cost so it’s our responsibility to provide the resources and guidance to make sustainable practices feel seamless. For us this means making our insurance products the easiest way for a customer to have confidence their devices are fully integrated with the circular economy.
We take pride in extending the lifetime of devices and guiding our customers towards a ‘repair over replace’ philosophy. Our unique position allows us to educate them on the advantages of repairing their phones rather than upgrading and leaving the old ones unused or discarded. By choosing to repair, they can extend the life of their devices and reduce electronic waste. When the time eventually comes for an upgrade, we ensure that their old phones are either refurbished or recycled responsibly.
Are there sustainability goals you are trying to achieve currently?
As an insurer of mobile phones and consumer electronics, we know we play a crucial role in the transition to a circular economy. Consumers want to make sustainable choices but often lack the necessary information and resources.
Our unique position allows us to guide them in extending the lifespan of their devices through regular maintenance and timely repairs. When devices are no longer needed, we ensure they are repaired, refurbished, or recycled responsibly, working with certified partners to meet high environmental standards. This helps conserve resources and reduce the environmental impact of producing new devices.
We are committed to transparency and education, providing clear information on the environmental benefits of these practices. By empowering consumers with knowledge, we help them make informed, sustainable choices. At SquareTrade, our role goes beyond providing coverage; we are dedicated to being a proactive partner in the journey towards a circular economy, benefiting both consumers and the planet.
How do you measure and report on your sustainability performance?
SquareTrade is part of the wider Allstate group. As part of Allstate, we can serve additional retailers, whilst expanding our product offering and market reach.
Within this structure we feed into the Allstate Annual Sustainability Report. The report acts as our framework we use to evaluate our Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) sustainability practices across the business. In addition our own emissions are included in Allstate’s annual CDP disclosure.
We also measure our progress against our recently validated SBTi emission reduction targets. Achieving the necessary reductions is made more complex given the continued growth of our business. To give us confidence we will meet our reduction targets we have combined our financial and claim forecasts with our own internal claim level emissions model. This means we can accurately forecast future emissions and model the impact of our emission reduction initiatives.
How do you bring environmentally friendly practices to customers?
We want our customers to transition from today’s linear economy, where we take, make, use, and dispose of items, to a circular economy where products and materials are repaired, repurposed, and ultimately recycled, aiming to reduce the consumption of raw materials and resources.
Repairing a customer’s device is more cost-effective than purchasing a new one. Therefore, enhancing the repairability of devices can lead to improved products for customers, lower expenses, and environmental benefits. We hope this practice becomes our norm, and fast. We know that as a society we are consuming resources unsustainably at present.
A core part of the circular economy is ensuring devices last longer, and we can also help customers here through proactive maintenance, servicing, and effective repairs.
About Dr. Quinton Goddard
Dr. Quinton Goddard is Head of Solutions & Sustainability for SquareTrade Europe, overseeing the development and implementation of the region’s sustainability strategy. In this role, he leads the creation of tools and processes to measure annual emissions, set reduction targets, monitor progress, and integrate sustainability across all facets of SquareTrade Europe. His focus extends to fostering sustainability innovation aligned with the principles of the circular economy, achieved through collaborative efforts with cross-functional teams and partners.
Prior to joining SquareTrade, Quinton was a former astronomer turned strategy consultant where he spent 10 years focused on financial services helping some of the world’s leading banks, insurers, and stock exchanges with a range of problems, including regulatory change, strategy development, and organisational change, before finding his way to sustainability.
