Root
Root Platform is an API-first, cloud-hosted insurance technology company enabling insurers, MGAs, banks, retailers, and affinity brands to build and distribute digital insurance products via embedded white-label integrations, with operations across South Africa and the UK.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2016
- HeadquartersCape Town, South Africa
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Root does
Root Platform is an API-first, cloud-hosted insurance technology company founded in 2016 and headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa. The company provides an end-to-end insurance platform that enables insurers, Managing General Agents (MGAs), banks, retailers, telecommunications providers, and affinity brands to build, launch, and manage digital insurance products without building infrastructure from scratch. The platform's core components include the Product Workbench (a low-code configurator for rating, pricing, documents, and claims workflows), a unified Policy Administration System covering the full policy lifecycle from quote to renewal, the Root Embed white-label sales and management portal for in-journey insurance purchase, configurable Claims Workflows, multi-provider Collection Modules (Stripe, Nedbank DebiCheck, manual EFT), and SQL-based Business Intelligence via the Data Adapter. The architecture runs on AWS with multi-tenant sandbox and production environments and separate domain endpoints for South Africa and the UK regions.
Root operates as a B2B2C platform exclusively — it does not sell insurance directly to consumers but enables partners to embed or distribute insurance products through their own digital channels. Revenue is generated through multi-year subscription contracts defined in Service Orders (with a 99.9% Core Services uptime SLA), tiered support plans (Standard and Premium), professional services for implementation and training, and add-on modules (middleware support, Private Stack dedicated infrastructure, Add-on Marketplace extensions). Pricing is quote-based and not publicly disclosed. The named customer base spans South African enterprise anchors including Sanlam, Momentum, Metropolitan, Guardrisk, RGA, African Bank, Mr Price, TFG, Telkom, and Easy Equities, alongside international clients such as Admiral Pioneer (UK), Octopus Electric Vehicles (UK), Shackleton Life, CarSure, TaxTim, and Cim Finance.
The company has raised $4.5 million in total disclosed funding across two rounds — a $3 million seed round led by Invenfin (a Remgro subsidiary) in November 2021, and a $1.5 million follow-on from Invenfin in September 2023 earmarked for UK and European expansion. Root has established a UK regional headquarters (Root Platform (UK) Ltd, Company No. 14528277) governing operations across the UK, EEA, Middle East, Asia, and Oceania. Reported operational metrics include 6 million+ in-force policies, $5 billion+ in risk covered, 100+ live insurance products, and SOC 2 Type II certification (dated August 2023). The company is led by co-founder and CEO Louw Hopley.
Root firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Root
- Legal name
- Root Platform (UK) Ltd
- Website
- https://rootplatform.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2016
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Root Platform is an API-first, cloud-hosted insurance technology company enabling insurers, MGAs, banks, retailers, and affinity brands to build and distribute digital insurance products via embedded white-label integrations, with operations across South Africa and the UK.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Root industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Insurance Platform Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (5132), Health and Welfare Funds (525120), Software Publishers (513210)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Accident & Health Insurance (6321)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Multi-Condition RPM Platforms & Care Orchestration (device-agnostic, population management) (HLALAFAL)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Platforms & Services (HLACAPAA)
Keywords
Where Root is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Cape Town
- HQ country
- South Africa
- HQ region
- Africa
Offices2 records
Markets served
Root business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Platform SaaS / Subscription: Root provides access to its insurance platform (Core Services) via subscription, granting organisations a personal, non-transferable, non-exclusive right to access and use the Root Platform Services. Fees are defined in Service Orders per client.
- Professional Services: Implementation, discovery, consulting, integration, and product launch support services provided by Root's implementation team, scoped before delivery with fees agreed in Service Orders.
- Support Plans: Tiered support offerings including Standard (email support, Help Centre access) and Premium (dedicated technical account manager, Slack communication, ongoing collaboration) support plans.
- Add-on Modules: Additional paid capabilities including middleware support, testing environment access, and extended hours support, offered as support add-ons on top of base plans.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Pay-as-you-go | Free Trial / Sandbox |
| Subscription | Monthly | Standard Support |
| Subscription | Monthly | Premium Support |
| Subscription | Multi-year contract | Custom Platform Subscription (Standard SLA) |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels6 records
Marketing channels6 records
Root product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Root provides an API-first, end-to-end insurance platform that enables insurers, MGAs, banks, retailers, and affinity brands to build, launch, distribute, and manage digital insurance products. The platform combines a low-code Product Workbench, a unified Policy Administration System, embedded white-label distribution, configurable Claims Workflow, premium Collections, and Business Intelligence/Data Adapter tooling, delivered via REST APIs on a multi-tenant AWS cloud.
Product overview
Root Platform is an API-first, end-to-end insurance platform providing a modular architecture that combines a core platform with specialized product templates and professional services. The core platform consists of the Policy Administration System for policy lifecycle management, Product Workbench for low-code product building, Business Intelligence for analytics, Data Adapter for SQL data access, Collections for payment processing, and Customer Notifications for automated messaging. This core is complemented by Root Embed (white-label sales portal), an Add-on Marketplace for extensions, and Private Stack for dedicated infrastructure. The platform offers over 10 pre-configured product starter templates including Motor, Pet, Cyber, Travel, Bicycle, SME, Household, Personal Liability, Device, and Funeral insurance, plus a Blank template for building any insurance product from scratch. Professional Services provide implementation, training, and advisory support while Standard and Premium Support tiers offer escalating service levels.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Policy Administration System
- Product Workbench
- Business Intelligence
- Data Adapter
- Root Embed
- Private Stack
- Professional Services
- Standard Support
- Premium Support
Quantifiable outcome
- 6m+ in-force policies processed on the platform
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Root
Customer profileNamed customers21 records
Segments6 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Root technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration4 records
AI capability2 records
Feature8 records
Root partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.
- Admiral PioneerflagshipRoot partnered with Admiral Pioneer (Admiral Group's innovation unit) and Octopus Electric Vehicles to embed motor insurance into the EV leasing process via salary sacrifice schemes. The collaboration uses Root's platform to offer personalized, risk-based insurance pricing replacing traditional fleet-based pricing. Admiral Pioneer's COO noted 'We have not come across any problem the Root team can't solve.' This is a flagship embedded insurance partnership showcasing real-time pricing and policy issuance within a leasing journey.
- Octopus Electric VehiclesflagshipRoot partnered with Admiral Pioneer and Octopus EV to embed motor insurance into the Octopus Electric Vehicles salary sacrifice leasing scheme. Root's platform provides real-time personalized insurance quotes and instant policy issuance within the EV leasing process, replacing fleet-based pricing with individual risk-based premiums.
- SanlamcoreSanlam, a major South African financial services group, is a client of Root's insurance platform. Sanlam distributes digital insurance products built on Root's infrastructure to its customer base.
- MomentumcoreMomentum, a South African insurance and investment company, uses Root's platform to develop and distribute digital insurance products to its customers.
- African BankcoreAfrican Bank, a South African retail bank, leverages Root's embedded insurance platform to distribute insurance products through its digital and physical channels.
- MetropolitancoreMetropolitan, a South African financial services company, is a Root platform client. Metropolitan's Solutions Actuary cited that Root's platform enabled them to reduce administrative focus and prioritize customer satisfaction and stronger customer relationships.
- TFG (The Foschini Group)coreTFG, a major South African retail group, uses Root's insurance platform to embed insurance products within its retail customer journeys. TFG's Product Manager described Root as a 'game-changer' for enabling easy partner API integrations.
- TaxTimminorTaxTim, a South African fintech tax assistant, partners with Root to offer insurance products. TaxTim's Founder described Root's integration as 'the simplest integration with an insurance company by far.'
- Shackleton Life (Black Cygnet Life)minorShackleton Life, operating under the Black Cygnet Life brand, is a Root platform client. Their Managing Director cited Root's development speed and exceptional team support as key benefits.
- GuardriskminorGuardrisk, a South African specialist insurer and risk finance provider, is a partner on the Root Platform.
- RGA (Reinsurance Group of America)minorRGA, a global reinsurance company, is listed as a Root Platform partner, suggesting reinsurance integration or partnership for products built on the platform.
Scale indicators9 records
Recent moves5 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Root competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Socotra: Socotra is a cloud-native, API-first insurance core platform serving insurers, MGAs, and insurtechs to launch and manage policies. It directly competes with Root in offering a modern, microservices-based core system aimed at digital-first insurers and embedded distribution.
- Duck Creek Technologies: Duck Creek provides a suite of insurance core and distribution software (Policy, Billing, Claims, Insights) used by P&C insurers worldwide. It is a direct competitor to Root in the insurance platform space, with overlap in policy administration and product configuration.
- EIS Group: EIS offers an open, API-first insurance core platform (EIS Platform) used by global insurers and MGAs for policy administration, billing, and claims. It overlaps directly with Root's policy administration and embedded distribution capabilities.
- Majesco: Majesco provides cloud-based insurance software for P&C and life insurers, including policy administration, underwriting, billing, and claims. It competes with Root in the mid-market and digital insurer segment, particularly where buyers seek cloud-native platforms.
- Insurity: Insurity delivers insurance core, analytics, and digital engagement software to P&C insurers. Its policy administration and data offerings overlap with Root's PAS, Data Adapter, and BI capabilities.
- Qover: Qover is an embedded insurance orchestration platform operating across Europe, enabling brands to embed and distribute insurance products via APIs. It is a direct peer to Root in the embedded insurance distribution layer, particularly for EU/UK partnerships.
- Zego: Zego provides motor and mobility-focused insurance built on proprietary technology and offered via fleet, leasing, and platform partners. It overlaps with Root's motor/EV use case (e.g., Octopus EV-style embedded pricing) and represents a comparable embedded insurance reference in the UK/Europe.
- Cover Genius: Cover Genius provides an embedded insurance API platform (XCover) for global distribution of protection products to partners. It competes with Root in enabling cross-border, partner-led embedded insurance across multiple verticals.
Broad incumbents
- Guidewire: Guidewire is the incumbent insurance core platform vendor (PolicyCenter, BillingCenter, ClaimCenter) widely used by large P&C insurers. While broader and more legacy-oriented than Root, it is the dominant competitive reference point for insurers evaluating modern API-first alternatives like Root.
Emerging players
- Wrisk: Wrisk offers an embedded insurance platform enabling businesses to integrate insurance products into their digital experiences. It overlaps with Root's Root Embed white-label distribution model, particularly for non-insurance brands seeking embedded cover.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Root social profiles
Digital presenceRoot compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
Root financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Root leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Root funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Root M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Root
What does Root do?
Root provides an API-first, end-to-end insurance platform that enables insurers, MGAs, banks, retailers, and affinity brands to build, launch, distribute, and manage digital insurance products. The platform combines a low-code Product Workbench, a unified Policy Administration System, embedded white-label distribution, configurable Claims Workflow, premium Collections, and Business Intelligence/Data Adapter tooling, delivered via REST APIs on a multi-tenant AWS cloud.
Is Root a public or private company?
Root is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Root founded?
Root was founded in 2016. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Root based?
Root is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa, in the Africa region.
How does Root make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Platform SaaS / Subscription is the primary driver. The others are professional Services, support Plans and add-on Modules.
Who are Root's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Socotra, Duck Creek Technologies, EIS Group, Majesco, Insurity, Qover, Zego and Cover Genius. Guidewire is listed as a broad incumbent. Wrisk is listed as an emerging player.
Does Root have an API?
Yes. Root Insurance API is a REST-based API that enables developers to create and integrate insurance products. The platform issues policies, collects premiums, tracks events and conversations, and delivers data exports. Key features include: HTTP Basic authentication using API keys, webhook support for event-driven communication, sandbox and production environments with isolated organization data, pagination for list endpoints (default page_size=30, max 100), and full audit trail tracking via created_by field. Available on public internet at api.rootplatform.com (production) and sandbox.uk.rootplatform.com (UK sandbox). Multi-tenant regions supported include United Kingdom and South Africa with separate domain endpoints. Developer documentation is at docs.rootplatform.com/reference/getting-started-1.
What industry is Root in?
Root's product category is Insurance Platform Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HLALAFAL, Multi-Condition RPM Platforms & Care Orchestration (device-agnostic, population management), with a secondary code of HLACAPAA, Remote Patient Monitoring (RPM) Platforms & Services. Its NAICS code is 5132 and its SIC code is 7372.