Code to Cover Newsletter

Insurance has always had people acting on someone else’s behalf. Brokers act for customers. MGAs act on behalf of carriers. Increasingly, though, technology is acting on people’s behalf too, with platforms becoming places where customers discover, buy and manage cover. Convenience is clearly part of the appeal. But as more of the insurance journey gets folded into other products, platforms and AI tools, does this convenience start to erode suitability?

Insurance is being placed in more journeys than ever - in airline bookings, retail checkouts and the platforms businesses already use to run themselves. Putting insurance in front of a customer at the right moment is valuable in itself. But there still needs to be something in it for them too - be that better cover, a better price, less hassle, or simply a clearer reason to buy it.

Insurance partnerships have traditionally been about getting the right product in front of the right customer. But what if they could do much more than that? Perhaps by changing the product itself, removing friction from the customer experience, or opening up new distribution routes and even finding ways to prevent losses altogether?

Embedded insurance takes many forms and this edition runs the length of the spectrum, from a nudge at checkout to a deduction from a driver's wages. In this edition: the Dutch regulator on when a checkout nudge becomes a shove, IKEA enters UK home insurance with Urban Jungle, Zurich insures Hong Kong's robot workforce, and Kenya rebuilds premium collection for gig drivers.

Absa partners with BYD to make EVs more affordable. Zurich partners with Mercedes-Benz to embed motor insurance. Tesco and Aviva launch free insurance for parents. Softer market conditions reveal what brokers and capacity providers value most.

In this edition we look at why retailers, banks and platforms should be treating embedded insurance as a key part of their strategy, what distributors actually want from an insurance partner, how our AI-native product builder allows you to reshape partner distribution, and what we heard at MGAA 2026.

Embedded partner distribution is expanding beyond traditional digital channels. In this edition, TikTok brings SME cover to e-commerce businesses, a new MGA embeds specialist cover through retailers, and South Africa’s Long-term Insurance Amendment Bill raises new operational and data challenges for insurers.

End-to-end cover from inside WhatsApp, and ChatGPT’s new Shopping Assistant now tells you which insurer to pick.

The bar for MGAs is rising and good distribution alone no longer cuts it. Why the answer to AI scepticism might be more data, not more AI. Plus why insurers won't quote on your new Chinese EV.

The world’s first binding insurance quote over ChatGPT, where customers drop off the quote journey, and the UK's regulatory reform wish list moves closer to becoming law.