Imagine buying a new phone online and being offered an extended warranty at checkout. Or booking a holiday and adding travel insurance with just one click. Embedded insurance, seamlessly integrated into everyday transactions, is transforming how platforms deliver value to their customers.
It’s no longer just an additional service—embedded insurance has become a strategic tool to unlock new revenue streams, build loyalty, and create a standout customer experience. If you’re considering embedding insurance into your platform, there’s one key decision to make: should you build it in-house or partner with a specialist?
Here’s everything you need to know to make the right choice.

What is Embedded Insurance?

Embedded insurance integrates insurance products directly into the customer’s journey, offered at the perfect moment to make the process simple and relevant.
Examples include:

• Adding accident protection for a newly purchased laptop at checkout.

• Offering health coverage to gig workers during onboarding.

• Bundling trip cancellation insurance with flight bookings.

By removing the friction of traditional insurance purchases, embedded insurance drives higher adoption rates while enhancing the user experience.
For platforms, this translates to monetising existing traffic, increasing user engagement, and standing out in a crowded market.

Why Build In-House?

As a platform, you may think, “We are the only ones who understand our customers, so why not develop it ourselves?”
This mindset makes sense. Developing an in-house solution gives you full control to:

• Tailor the product precisely to your audience.

• Manage the entire customer experience directly.

• Retain complete ownership of revenue streams.

However, while this approach seems logical, insurance is fundamentally different from other offerings. It’s not just about delivering a product; it’s a promise to your customers during critical moments. Building the systems, workflows, and expertise to deliver on this promise presents unique challenges.

The Challenges of Building In-House

1. Navigating Regulatory Complexity
   Insurance is a highly regulated industry, with compliance requirements that vary across regions. Platforms must align with strict legal frameworks, handle audits, and maintain transparency in operations. Any misstep in compliance could lead to penalties or reputational damage, making expertise in this area crucial.
   
   

2. Operational Overheads
   Running an insurance programme requires more than just offering policies. Platforms must invest in:

   1. Policy Management: Keeping records up to date, handling renewals, and processing cancellations.

   2. Claims Processing: Ensuring claims are resolved quickly and fairly, especially during stressful situations for customers.

   3. Fraud Detection: Establishing systems to identify and prevent fraudulent claims. Building these workflows from scratch takes time and significant resources.
      
      

3. Specialised Expertise
   Developing an insurance offering isn't straightforward. You need to structure the right benefits and coverage, price the product correctly, and handle underwriting risks, all of which are tough to get right. Without proper expertise, there's a risk the product might end up favoring the insurer more than your customers. Finding and retaining talent with these specialized skills can be both costly and time-consuming.
   
   

4. Technology Development
   Building the backend infrastructure for policy management, claims handling, and fraud prevention is a massive undertaking. Integration with your existing platform could take months—or even years—and requires ongoing investment for maintenance and updates.
   
   

5. Insurer Partnerships
   Securing relationships with insurers is a key component of any embedded insurance programme. These partnerships require alignment on objectives, technical capabilities, and operational processes. Even after forming partnerships, platforms must manage underwriting, claims, and compliance in collaboration with insurers.

Why partnering might be better

For many platforms, partnering with a specialised embedded insurance provider is a more efficient and scalable alternative.

1. Expertise in Relevant Risks
   While compliance is important, specialist providers bring more to the table. They know how to identify insurable risks that are relevant to your customers and context. They can help structure insurance covers that make sense for everyone involved - your platform, your users, and the insurers. This way, you don't have to build this complex expertise internally.
   
   

2. Pre-Built Technology
   Platforms gain access to ready-to-use systems for policy management, claims handling, and fraud detection. These tools integrate seamlessly into your existing customer journey, saving time and reducing upfront investment.
   
   

3. Insurer Relationships
   Specialist providers often have established partnerships with insurers, enabling platforms to get started quickly. They also handle ongoing collaboration around underwriting and claims, allowing you to focus on delivering value to your users.
   
   

4. Speed to Market
   With infrastructure already in place, partnering enables platforms to launch embedded insurance offerings faster. This speed can be a decisive advantage in competitive markets.

How to Decide

The decision to build in-house or partner depends on your platform’s resources, priorities, and long-term vision.

Building In-House might be right If:

• You have significant time, budget, and expertise to invest in insurance infrastructure.

• You want full control over product design and operations.

• You are prepared to commit to the long-term operational costs of running an insurance programme.

Partnering might be better If:

• You want to launch quickly with minimal upfront investment.

• You prefer to focus on your core business while outsourcing the complexities of insurance.

• You value scalability and flexibility without taking on operational risks.

Conclusion

Embedded insurance is a powerful way to enhance your platform’s offerings. It’s not just about selling policies—it’s about delivering a seamless, relevant experience that creates trust and loyalty.
Whether you choose to build in-house or partner with a specialist, the key is aligning your approach with your goals and resources. If you’re exploring how embedded insurance could work for your platform, connecting with experts like Assurekit can help you evaluate the best path forward.
Reach out to us here to learn more.