Simplisure Unveils Digital Platform to Simplify Term Life Insurance
Simplisure, a startup founded by veterans of the life insurance industry, has launched a digital platform designed to streamline the process of buying term life insurance. The platform is targeted towards non-licensed advisors, offering them a carrier-agnostic quote generation tool and a fully digital application process.
Co-founders Bracknell “Brack” Baker (left) and Caleb Baker
For years, Bracknell “Brack” Baker and Caleb Baker, the co-founders of Simplisure, worked closely with both clients and financial advisors. They helped them find the most suitable life insurance based on their personal histories and individual needs. It was during this time that the brothers came to the realization that a digital solution was sorely needed.
“We kept thinking to ourselves that there’s got to be ways to make this a cleaner, more efficient process,” Brack Baker explained.
The platform aims to simplify the often-complicated process of obtaining term life insurance, particularly for advisors who aren’t licensed to sell insurance.
Addressing a Need in the Market
Simplisure’s platform focuses specifically on term life insurance, an area that often gets overlooked in favor of higher-commission products like whole life insurance. Sean Kenmore, the founder and principal of Affinity Capital Advisors, a fee-only RIA, highlighted this point.
“The area of insurance that is too often overlooked is simple, term life insurance,” Kenmore said. “Let’s say you have a young family and you are in tech; maybe a $1 million fixed-term life insurance policy is the right choice for you, but that is a lot of work and process for not much of a payout.”
Licensed insurance brokers and advisors sometimes have reputations for promoting more complex and expensive whole life insurance policies.
Caleb Baker notes the platform was created to address a significant need for advisors they worked with. Simplisure’s goal was to provide education, unbiased price comparisons, and a streamlined process to keep both the advisor and their client informed throughout the underwriting process.
“Term has a lower compensation, and that is just the way it is,” added Brack Baker.
The digital platform lets advisors and consumers quickly and easily search and compare prices, and then complete an application for term life insurance securely online.
Platform Features and Functionality
The cloud-based platform is available in two interfaces which allows advisors to provide carrier-agnostic quotes to their clients. Both interfaces allow users to compare prices on term life insurance from 11 major carriers, with plans to add more. Simplisure acts as the insurance broker for all policies transacted on the platform.
Kenmore, who formerly held an insurance license, stated that he allowed it to lapse because he prefers working with the Bakers.
Kenmore has been a long-time user of Simplisure’s quote engine, which was the first part of the platform to be released in 2022.
“The [Simplisure] platform is carrier, brand-agnostic, and if the quotes and pricing it comes back with look good, it is easy and fully automated and efficient when it comes to the application process,” Kenmore said.
Kenmore further emphasized the efficiency gains.
“I can now get a quote for my client in less than five minutes,” Kenmore said, noting that the platform is free for non-licensed advisors, with Simplisure generating revenue as the insurance broker.
Future Plans
Simplisure originated from GB Financial Group, a family life insurance firm founded by Brack Baker and his mother, Gwen Baker, in 1994. The founders have plans to expand the platform to include comparisons and sales of long-term care and disability insurance.
In the next three to six months, Simplisure also plans to roll out a subscription model for licensed advisors who wish to use the platform’s comparison engine. Brack Baker stated that the company is already working with licensed advisors and property and casualty agents on a commission-share basis.
Competitive Landscape
Other insurtech startups have also emerged in recent years that intersect with the advisory business. These include Modern Life, Ethos Life Insurance, and Ladder Life Services. Ladder also has integrations with some advisor technology providers, including Orion’s Redtail and Envestnet | MoneyGuidePro.
