The $175B U.S. life insurance coverage market stands at a crucial inflection level: whereas 90% of insurance policies are offered by monetary advisors, these professionals navigate a fragmented ecosystem of over 10 disconnected legacy instruments, every dealing with separate features of quoting, underwriting, and case administration. This operational complexity interprets right into a six-month common coverage cycle time for everlasting life insurance coverage, creating friction at each stage of the shopper journey and limiting advisors’ capability to serve their shoppers successfully. Trendy Life addresses this systemic inefficiency by consolidating the whole life insurance coverage workflow right into a single AI-powered platform that permits advisors to immediately quote throughout 30+ carriers, obtain underwriting choices in minutes quite than weeks by its Specific Resolution functionality, and handle the whole shopper lifecycle from a unified dashboard. The platform’s proprietary AI analyzes medical and monetary information to determine probably the most aggressive carriers for every shopper’s distinctive wants whereas serving to advisors navigate the intricate intersections of tax planning, monetary optimization, and medical underwriting—capabilities that may in any other case require a workforce of specialised specialists. With entry to each main product sort from everlasting and time period life to annuities and long-term care, Trendy Life delivers as much as 20% price financial savings for shoppers by smarter product choice and skilled underwriting advocacy, all whereas sustaining SOC 2 certification and enterprise-grade information safety.
AlleyWatch sat down with Trendy Life Founder and CEO Michael Konialian to study extra concerning the enterprise, the long run plans, latest funding spherical, and far, far more…
Who have been your buyers and the way a lot did you increase?
We raised a $20M Sequence A led by Thrive Capital, with participation from New York Life Ventures, Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures, and Allegis. That brings our complete funding to $35M, following our earlier $15M seed spherical, which was additionally led by Thrive.
Inform us concerning the services or products that Trendy Life provides.
At Trendy Life, we’ve constructed an AI-powered, tech-enabled life insurance coverage brokerage platform designed particularly for monetary professionals. Advisors use our platform to acquire and evaluate prompt quotes from greater than 30 main carriers, leverage AI-driven underwriting, obtain as quickly as prompt choices, and handle the whole case lifecycle, from quotes to functions to insurance policies, inside a single, unified dashboard.
What impressed the beginning of Trendy Life?
The inspiration for Trendy Life got here instantly from my very own expertise attempting to purchase life insurance coverage. Whilst a comparatively younger and wholesome particular person, I discovered the method complicated, invasive, and extremely outdated. There have been complicated merchandise I barely understood, lengthy and repetitive types, infinite cellphone interviews, and medical exams that felt like they belonged to a different period. Given my background in constructing digital platforms for advisors, it was clear to me that know-how and AI may dramatically enhance the life insurance coverage buying expertise for each advisors and their shoppers, which finally led to the beginning of Trendy Life.
How is Trendy Life totally different?
Trendy Life is totally different due to our singular concentrate on empowering advisors. We allow the five hundred,000 professionals who distribute life insurance coverage and are answerable for 90% of the full market however who’ve an extremely difficult job. We carry collectively what would in any other case require a number of fragmented legacy instruments right into a single platform that handles quoting, underwriting, workflow, and shopper lifecycle administration. We additionally supply prompt or near-instant underwriting choices in lots of circumstances, usually with out medical exams, which dramatically accelerates the method. As a result of we’ve constructed our know-how in-house, we will embed AI throughout the whole journey in a means that legacy brokerages merely can’t match.
What market does Trendy Life goal and the way massive is it?
We concentrate on the U.S. life insurance coverage market, which is roughly a $175B market, 90% of which is offered by advisors. We additionally distribute long-term care, annuities, and incapacity insurance coverage which collectively are significant markets as properly. Our shoppers are monetary companies and professionals primarily serving prosperous shoppers and who want higher instruments, workflows, and experiences for his or her shopper service.
What’s what you are promoting mannequin?
Our enterprise mannequin is B2B by advisors. Advisors and companies use our platform for gratis to them and obtain commissions from Trendy Life if licensed. We generate income from carriers on insurance policies positioned by Trendy Life.
What was the funding course of like?
Thrive Capital has been a constant and extremely supportive accomplice, main each our seed and Sequence A rounds. We additionally introduced in strategic buyers from New York Life Ventures and Northwestern Mutual Future Ventures who perceive the significance of advisor-driven distribution and see the necessity for modernization in life insurance coverage.
What are the most important challenges that you simply confronted whereas elevating capital?
Earlier than Trendy Life, nearly all VC funding in life insurance coverage — about $1B — targeted solely on transactional time period insurance coverage offered both D2C or by extra D2C-like restricted agent experiences. Our method is totally different as a result of it focuses on the advisor because the buyer, not a particular insurance coverage product. This presents a 10x bigger addressable market, albeit a a lot tougher one to serve. A giant a part of our story is how we differentiate from each the primary wave of D2C startups and legacy gamers who concentrate on advisors.
What elements about what you are promoting led your buyers to jot down the examine?
We’ve established ourselves because the class chief targeted on innovating for advisors and in everlasting life insurance coverage, which is the appreciable majority of the market by worth. The sheer measurement and under-digitized nature of the life insurance coverage market make it one of many largest untapped alternatives in monetary providers. Additionally, our means to carry significant AI-driven innovation to an trade that has lagged on know-how is compounding our differentiation to D2C startups and legacy gamers.
What are the milestones you intend to attain within the subsequent six months?
Over the approaching months, we’re targeted on scaling our shopper base of companies and advisors, deepening our strategic partnerships throughout the trade, and constructing out our AI-powered platform. Specifically, we’re targeted on underwriting, workflow automation, and shopper lifecycle administration.
What recommendation are you able to supply corporations in New York that shouldn’t have a contemporary injection of capital within the financial institution?
There has by no means been a greater time to be a builder as we speak. The AI increase has fueled modern conventional enterprise fashions and delivered distinctive buyer experiences with out requiring tons of capital. At each scale, groups can get important leverage without having an abundance of sources.
The place do you see the corporate going now over the close to time period?
Within the close to time period, I see Trendy Life persevering with to scale and serve the nation’s prime companies and advisors, strengthening and increasing strategic partnerships with carriers and huge monetary companies, and cementing our place as a class chief in AI-powered life insurance coverage distribution. We’re going to hold investing within the know-how and AI capabilities that make advisors simpler and provides their shoppers a greater, sooner, and extra clear expertise.
What’s your favourite fall vacation spot in and across the metropolis?
Storm King within the fall is a particular place — a terrific place to wander round and get misplaced in.
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