Kayna Launches Vertical SaaS Embedded Insurance Solution

Insurtech cracks solution to massive problem of over and underinsurance by harnessing SMB data to deliver real-time policy adjustments.

Innovation enables SaaS platforms to ask SMBs “Do you want insurance with that?”

Embedded Insurance market forecast to grow to $722bn in GWP by 2030 – more than six times its current size.

Cork, Ireland 13th December, 2021 An award-winning Insurtech duo have launched their latest
offering to the Insurtech market with Kayna, a Vertical SaaS Embedded Insurance solution for Small
to Medium sized businesses.

The co-founding pair of Paul Prendergast and Peter Bermingham, backed by start-up accelerator and
venture studio Founders Factory, developed the new solution amidst market research that
demonstrates how the majority of small businesses across the UK do not have the correct amount of
insurance cover in place. This coupled with a major shift by small businesses to manage their
business on vertical specific SaaS platforms has allowed Kayna to build a unique solution in the
market.

Kayna integrates with vertical SaaS platforms that manage the daily operations for thousands of
SMB customers. Embedding Kayna into the SaaS platform leverages the unique data of that platform
to add value to their customers and to generate additional revenue.

Kayna leverages the SaaS platform data to deliver insurance products specific to the needs of each
business. It tracks the relevant changes to the data to enable real-time updates to insurance policies,
which adapt continuously to changes within a business. This ensures that SMBs always have the
correct insurance cover. A significant upside to Kayna support is it’s digitally-integrated faster claims
experience.

The Kayna process is transparent and intuitive so SMB’s always know what level of cover they
require and can easily manage that cover.

Speaking of the launch Paul Prendergast, CEO stated,
“We are delighted to launch Kayna. Our infrastructure powers embedded insurance 2.0, combining
the elements of distribution, product and claims innovation via vertical SaaS platforms.
Both over and underinsurance in SMBs has been an issue for decades. 80% of UK businesses never tell
their broker or insurer of fundamental changes that impact on their risk exposure. This problem
becomes more acute when we recognise that major challenges for SMBs caused by Covid-19 and
Brexit have forced them towards significant ongoing changes in a volatile trading environment –
meaning that some are paying too much for cover they don’t need, while others are leaving
themselves hugely financially exposed with cover that’s not sufficient and/or fit for purpose.
Kayna surmounts these challenges by providing a dynamic policy process which prompts businesses
with risk impact alerts for their insurer, then suggests subsequent policy changes.
Business owners can feel secure in the knowledge that they are covered appropriately for the
identified risks, insurers can also price risk more accurately, while the broker can provide the right
support, at the right time.

The exciting prospect is how we will unlock new verticals, new revenue streams, adding value to
platforms and providing SMBs with time and money-saving opportunities. Kayna is the infrastructure
that makes these things possible.”How it works

• Kayna embeds with Vertical SaaS platforms that manage the daily operations for thousands of SMB customers.
• Kayna actively monitors relevant business activity to ensure the business is not under or over insured.
• Kayna can seamlessly provide the specific items of data that can reduce insurance premiums for well managed businesses.

For example,

• If a business increases or decreases headcount, Kayna will alert the business owner of payroll shifts and implications on employers’ liability insurance cover.
• Trading revenue upturns and downturns are tracked.
• Property maintenance callouts and spends are monitored and Kayna can trigger alerts on potential claim and cover changes – key for landlord and facilities management.
• Stock fluctuations are measured to ensure that businesses holding volume due to slow activity or supply chain concerns are covered adequately at all times.
• If changes are identified, Kayna automatically generates a new quote that enables the business owner to easily modify the policy that they can incept via Kayna.

Olly Betts, Sector Director – Fintech at Founders Factory, spoke of their collaboration,
“It’s an exciting moment to see Kayna launch from our Venture Studio. Kayna came from identifying
a huge market opportunity to embed insurance where SMBs run their business, enabling SMB
platforms to ask their customers “Do you want insurance with that?” As multiple Insurtech Founders,
Paul and Peter are taking embedded insurance to the next level with dynamic policies enabling truly
personalised insurance. At Founders Factory we are excited to continue working closely with Kayna
on their mission to help SMBs protect their business in an increasingly unpredictable world.”

Peter Bermingham, CTO stated,
“We see vertical SaaS platforms as being the future of business insurance, because the platform data
can be used to deliver bespoke insurance products material to the needs of each business. This is our
space. Kayna’s relevance to the insurtech and financial services arena lies in its unique ability to offer
core infrastructure across any platform, providing data-led business intel which will open up new
markets.”

Prendergast concluded,
“Now that we have launched, we are a step closer to announcing some of the partnerships that we
have been working on behind the scenes with global partners that could revolutionise commercial
insurance for small to medium sized businesses worldwide”.SMEs and Insurance: The Stats

• Incorrect insurance: 50% of UK SMBs are underinsured – Chartered Insurance Institute (CII), Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)
• Current policies are static though SMBs are dynamic. Less than 20% of SMBs tell their insurer/broker as their needs change¹ (RSA)
• The insurance process is transactional in nature: SMBs have no idea where to start and the market is hard to navigate: the Insurer can’t invest the time to understand the SMB.
• 28% of UK SMBs will go out of business if faced with an unexpected bill of £50,000.
• Towergate² estimates that nine out of ten commercial properties in the UK are insured for the incorrect amount, and in 79% of these cases this is due to underinsurance.
• Average buildings are only covered for 69% of the amount they should be.
• Meanwhile 14% of properties are over-insured, it found. Those buildings that are over- insured are covered for 121% of the correct amount.
• According to a survey by valuer Barrett Corp & Harrington³ , more than 81% of properties they survey are underinsured. In 2018, they assessed £2.08bn worth of property. The result of their assessment was an additional 28% added to sums insured.
• InsTech London⁴ reports that the Embedded Insurance market is forecast to grow to $722bn in GWP by 2030 – more than six times its current size. This growth will largely be driven by China and North America, which together will account for over two-thirds of the global market by 2030.

Note to the EditorKayna
Kayna is led by a successful, award-winning team that has built and scaled a number of Insurtech businesses across their 15-year partnership. As leaders in the design and delivery of simple, intuitive, online Insurtech innovation, Kayna reflects the unique insights and specialist expertise of Paul Prendergast CEO and Peter Bermingham CTO in leading transformative change.  With Kayna, the team is delivering Embedded Insurance 2.0 with comprehensive solutions on Insurance Distribution, Product & Claims Innovation through new digital channels. Having established long term successful collaborative global partnerships with insurance and financial services companies across Asia, Africa, Australia, Europe and North America, the team are proud to be backed by Founders Factory and Aviva.
For further information: https://kayna.ioFounders Factory
Founders Factory is an award-winning pre-seed to Series A venture studio and accelerator. To date, it has backed over 200 tech companies globally, 45+ of which were built from scratch in the Founders Factory studio. Founders Factory is currently investing across multiple sectors including FinTech, Retail, Home, Healthcare, Media, Beauty, Travel & AI & Big Data. The team are on a mission to power founders to go further, faster, believing that by providing exceptional founders with capital, expert operational support and access to world-class corporates, it can create technology companies that solve our world’s biggest challenges.
For further information: https://foundersfactory.com

‍1  https://www.rsagroup.com/media/1911/rsa-future-impacts-research-findings-30-november-2016.pdf
2 https://www.towergate.com/insight/underinsurance-disasters-waiting-to-happen
3 https://bch.uk.com/barrett-corp-harrington-2018-insurance-valuation-results/
4 https://www.instech.london/civicrm/contribute/transact?reset=1&id=11