Insurers are often constrained by antiquated legacy systems, a barrier to personalising products based on data and context. This also makes it hard to deliver these products digitally through partners that often have limited tech resources, but still require seamless integration of tailored products into their customer journeys.

Root supports insurance companies that want to develop effective distribution partnerships that leverage modern digital distribution practices and are quick to market. Their end-to-end insurance solution is a highly flexible, low-code insurance platform that gives developers and product teams the autonomy and control they need to rapidly build, embed and manage modern insurance products across multiple channels. The platform has been designed with a broader ecosystem in mind and is API-first.

Root’s developer-first approach gives developers the power to reinvent products, experiences and ultimately the industry. Developers are ultimately the ones who have reinvented industry after industry (think transportation, holiday accommodation, retail commerce and video entertainment). Root is providing them with the tools they need to leverage their creativity to do the same in insurance, whether they are working inside incumbents or outside.

Root builds the infrastructure that packages the “hard things” in insurance behind easy-to-use APIs, creating a new global API standard. The Root platform enables developers and product teams to combine all the unique ecosystem pieces into one central platform to support their differentiated proposition to customers.

How it works

Root’s platform is designed from the ground up to be flexible and fit around the desired product and channel integration. It offers flexibility in product design, embedded insurance pathways, agility in speed to market, and gives customers control over their data. Root is a class-agnostic platform: its architecture does not dictate the products it can support.

In essence, the platform exists to allow insurance providers to launch their dream products. Root’s cloud-based, flexible infrastructure, is delivered as a service:

• A Product Workbench (low-code) provides autonomy to rapidly prototype and launch programmable, API-ready insurance products.

• An extensive API library, as well as developer guides, to empower teams to self-help. The proven APIs open up endless distribution and engagement channels, from embedded to chatbots, as well as access to the broader insurance ecosystem through robust system integrations.

• A complete Policy System to hold policies and manage the full policy lifecycle (quote generation, policy administration, premium collection, claims, reporting), supporting data enrichment and back office processes.

Why we chose Root for ITC DIA Europe 2023

Louw Hopley, Co-founder and CEO of Root, will take the stage during ITC DIA Europe to present Root’s solution that powers digital and embedded insurance. Root’s low code workbench empowers product teams to build with speed and to rapidly execute experiments and adjustments themselves. With the strength of Root’s extensive API, the product teams have what they need to create differentiated customer value in order to win in the 21st century.

Who is Root?

Root was launched in 2016 with the goal of making it easier for software developers to build products in financial services. Root is currently operating across the UK and Africa, with expansion planned into the USA and Europe.

More than 50 products have been developed using Root’s platform, 1m+ policies signed up and managed on the platform, US$30m+ GWP and it serves 18 enterprise customers who launched insurance products using Root’s technology.

Root announced on November 11, 2021, that it raised $3 million in seed funding to scale globally and build the infrastructure for the global digital insurance economy. Venture capital firms Invenfin, Base Capital, Savannah Fund, P1 Ventures, Luno and FireID took part in the round, including some high-impact angel investors.

“We’re revolutionising the insurance industry by bringing it into the digital age. Through easy-to-use APIs, we provide an end-to-end cloud insurance solution that empowers clients to create products that meet customer needs and can be sold through relevant channels and partners. Our goal is to simplify the complex aspects of insurance, one API at a time.”

Louw Hopley