When we shared our excitement about attending the Open & Embedded Insurance Observatory's annual plenary on September 23rd, we mentioned our focus on collaborative research and automotive industry opportunities. After a full day of presentations and conversations with embedded insurance practitioners at AWS New York, several themes emerged that point toward where the industry is heading.
The panel "From car dealers to super apps: how retail distribution is evolving, and what it means for embedded insurance" featured Leonardo Cardone from Sure alongside Bill Suneson and Haden Kirkpatrick. The discussion surfaced insights that extended well beyond automotive into broader questions about embedded insurance implementation across sectors.
Here are five key takeaways from the Observatory plenary.
Embedded insurance isn't new, but the technology platform is
One panelist reminded the group that embedded insurance models have long existed: health insurance through employers, renters insurance via landlords, workers compensation through payroll providers. The concept of distributing insurance through trusted relationships isn't revolutionary.
What's different is that APIs and digital platforms now make affinity distribution scalable, seamless, and significantly smarter than traditional methods. Where embedded insurance once required manual processes and paper applications, modern technology enables real-time integration, instant quotes, and one-click purchase experiences.
Sure's platform consolidates what traditionally required three to four separate vendor integrations into a single technology solution. This approach reduces implementation complexity and accelerates time to market, typically within 60 days for enterprise programs.
Not all insurance should be one-click
The panel explored a crucial nuance: the spectrum of experiences required for different insurance products. Simple products like travel insurance or device protection lend themselves to instant, one-click purchases. Complex or high-stakes products like auto or home insurance require guided journeys, thoughtful customization, and trusted touchpoints.
Consider automotive financing scenarios. Customers need insurance to complete the purchase, but they also need to understand coverage options, state requirements, and how different choices affect their monthly payments. The embedded experience should deliver guidance seamlessly within the purchase flow rather than forcing customers to navigate these questions with unknown insurance agents.
Sure's platform enables brands to deliver pre-filled quotes, explain coverage options, and guide customers through decisions while keeping them within the brand's ecosystem. The result is informed customers who maintain trust in the brand relationship while receiving appropriate insurance guidance.
Data sharing remains the biggest untapped opportunity
A panelist pointed out a fundamental challenge: the technology for data sharing exists—connected dashboards, APIs, carrier data platforms—but cultural openness remains the barrier. During the discussion, the observation emerged that when players in the space learn to share data, the whole gets bigger than its parts.
Consider telematics in automotive insurance. Connected vehicles generate driving behavior data that could inform underwriting, improve safety interventions, and reduce claims costs. When this data flows between automotive brands, insurance carriers, and embedded platforms, everyone benefits: carriers improve loss ratios, brands strengthen customer relationships through safety features, and customers receive more accurate pricing.
Sure's platform serves as a neutral technology layer between brands and carriers, managing data flow according to agreed parameters. This architecture enables brands to leverage customer data to improve insurance experiences while carriers access the data they need for accurate underwriting and risk management.
Behavioral underwriting will transform insurance pricing
The panel discussed a fundamental shift from underwriting cohorts to behavioral models. Traditional actuarial approaches segment customers into groups based on demographic characteristics and historical data. Embedded insurance enables dynamic, individual-level models that respond to actual behavior.
Leonardo Cardone illustrated this with auto insurance: a premium might no longer depend solely on driving scores, but on how well customers respond to guidance and feedback about their driving. This shift aligns insurance pricing with active risk management rather than static risk assessment.
Embedded insurance makes behavioral underwriting practical by creating the continuous touchpoints necessary for this model to work. Sure's platform maintains ongoing customer relationships through brand touchpoints rather than limiting interactions to purchase and claims, enabling carriers to leverage behavioral insights for more accurate, dynamic pricing while brands maintain customer trust through transparent data usage policies.
Superapps signal what's coming to U.S. markets
Leonardo Cardone explained how superapps first flourished in less competitive markets abroad where consumers had fewer specialized apps and welcomed consolidated platforms. Now momentum is building in the U.S. market, with X and Robinhood both making strategic moves toward superapp functionality.
Superapps represent the ultimate embedded distribution model: everything from commerce to financial services to insurance consolidated within a single trusted platform. When superapps arrive in the U.S. at scale, embedded insurance won't be an innovation, it will be a baseline customer expectation.
Given the complexity of insurance operations, regulation, and carrier relationships, most superapps will likely embed insurance rather than attempt to become carriers themselves. Sure's decade of platform development positions the company for this evolution, with technology that already supports the multi-product, multi-carrier, seamless experiences that superapps will require.
Looking forward
The Observatory plenary reinforced what we see in our work with brands and carriers: embedded insurance represents far more than a distribution channel innovation. It's the foundation for fundamental shifts in how insurance operates, from behavioral underwriting models to data-driven risk management to customer experiences that match modern digital expectations.
The most significant challenges aren't technical, they're cultural: building the data sharing frameworks, carrier partnerships, and organizational alignment that make embedded insurance work at scale. These challenges require the collaborative approach the Observatory community exemplifies, practitioners sharing implementation experiences and building industry knowledge together.
Want to discuss how these embedded insurance trends apply to your industry?
Whether you attended the Observatory plenary or are exploring embedded insurance opportunities, we'd welcome the conversation. Reach out to partnerships@sureapp.com to continue the discussion.
