IKEA HEMSÄKER
Designing IKEA’s First Insurance Product
How we built a human, scalable product around trust, not terms
Client: Swiss Re iptiQ & Ikano Bank, for IKEA
Agency: C Space London
My Role: Experience Design Director
Scope: Product strategy, CX design, UX prototyping, proposition validation
Engagement Type: Agency-led design sprint and product co-creation
In Brief
- IKEA wanted to offer home insurance without breaking its brand promise.
- People didn’t trust insurance, but they did trust IKEA to keep them safe.
- We designed four product concepts, each shaped around unmet needs.
- Final version HEMSÄKER launched in four markets, built to grow.
- The work reduced risk and proved that IKEA could enter new spaces.
1. Challenge
IKEA wanted to offer home insurance without breaking its brand promise.
IKEA wanted to expand into home insurance, but traditional offerings didn’t match their customers’ lifestyles or values.
The challenge was to design a solution that felt genuinely IKEA while reducing the risks of entering an unfamiliar market.
“Insurance is complicated. We just want to feel safe.”
German Customer
2. Insight
People didn’t trust insurance, but they did trust IKEA to keep them safe.
Our research confirmed that security was the most critical home need, followed by privacy, comfort, belonging, and ownership. However, the existing insurance experience presented several challenges: complex onboarding, a lack of trust in insurance companies, complicated claims processes, and prohibitive costs.
IKEA had the trust and the right home-association angle but needed to prove it could deliver a new kind of insurance experience. One that felt simple, human, and useful..
3. Change
We designed four product concepts, each shaped around unmet needs.
As Experience Design Director, I led the design of a real go-to-market offer IKEA could launch and scale.
We started with a three-day hackathon: in-person co-creation, overnight testing in three countries, and input from the Swiss Re and Ikano teams. We focused on the intersection between home security and the real pain points of insurance.
We mapped journeys, defined use cases, and shaped four clear propositions, each based on an unmet need: safety, sustainability, community, and affordability. Every concept was fully branded, with real UX and service logic behind it.
4. Delivery
Final version HEMSÄKER launched in four markets, built to grow.
What began as a value proposition evolved into IKEA’s first live insurance product: HEMSÄKER. It used clear language and is fully digital, making it easy to understand and use.
HEMSÄKER launched in Switzerland, Malaysia, Singapore, and Mexico. Within a year, it captured 10% of the direct market in Switzerland and ranked among the top five in customer service.
5. Impact
The work reduced risk and proved that IKEA could enter new spaces on its terms.
This work allowed IKEA to move into a complex, unfamiliar market without losing what made the brand trusted. By listening to real needs, co-creating with users, and testing early, we helped the business reduce risk and move with clarity.
The approach combined customer insight with practical delivery logic, turning an abstract opportunity into a working product, backed by real journeys, flows, and service rules. It wasn’t about selling insurance. It was about designing something people would actually use, and proving IKEA could deliver it in a way that felt true to the brand.
HEMSÄKER is now part of IKEA’s financial services roadmap, with a system designed to scale.
IKEA CH: HEMSÄKER
Ikano Group: Press page
iptiQ Swiss Re: Press page
10% of Switzerland’s direct home insurance market within one year
CHF 20 IKEA gift card for every claim-free year (driving repeat store visits)
Adopted by Ingka as part of IKEA’s financial services strategy
“We’re really proud of how it reflects the IKEA look and feel. It uses straight-talking language and connects naturally to the brand in a way customers understand and trust.”
Elizabeth Wesson,
Digital Strategy,
Swiss Re
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