In the high-stakes world of small business protection, where nearly half of UK SMBs remain underinsured and traditional brokers leave critical gaps, two serial entrepreneurs decided enough was enough.
Paul Prendergast (CEO & Co-Founder) and Peter Bermingham (CTO & Co-Founder) — a powerhouse duo with over two decades of insurtech experience, Lloyd’s Lab alumni, and winners of the 2023 InsurTech NY Carrier/Broker Competition — launched Kayna in 2021 with a radical conviction: insurance must live inside the software SMBs already trust every day.
Fresh from a €1.5M seed round and live with partners like WTW and Markel, the Cork-based team is turning vertical SaaS platforms into powerful, data-rich distribution channels. Get ready for a masterclass in the future of embedded insurance.
1- Tell us about yourself / your co-founder(s).
We’re a team of insurance, technology and distribution veterans who grew frustrated watching the industry fail SMBs at the point they need protection most — when they’re actually running their business. The founding team combines deep insurtech infrastructure experience with hands-on understanding of how software platforms operate and how small businesses actually make purchasing decisions. We started Kayna with one conviction: the next era of insurance distribution won’t be built on comparison sites or broker networks — it will be built inside the software SMBs already use every day.
2- Who are your target customers, and what problem do you address for them?
We work with two groups: vertical SaaS platforms and the carriers and brokers who want to reach SMBs at scale.
The problem we solve is a structural one. SMB insurance is massively underserved — businesses are either uninsured, underinsured, or insured through a process so friction-heavy they only think about it once a year at renewal. Meanwhile, the software these businesses use daily — accounting tools, payroll platforms, franchise management systems, field service apps — knows more about their risk profile than any broker ever could. That data sits idle.
Kayna connects those two worlds: we embed insurance directly into the SaaS workflow, surfacing the right coverage at the right moment with dramatically less friction. For the SaaS platform, it creates a new revenue stream and deeper product stickiness. For the carrier or broker, it opens a new distribution channel with superior data and attachment rates. For the SMB, insurance stops being something they have to go looking for.
3- What is your product / solution, who do you compete with, and what is your USP?
Kayna is an embedded insurance infrastructure platform. We provide the APIs, white-label UI components, and intelligent workflows that allow vertical SaaS platforms to launch compliant, revenue-generating insurance programmes in weeks rather than years — without becoming an insurer or broker themselves.
The traditional competitive set — aggregators, brokers, and point-of-sale insurtechs — all require the customer to leave their workflow and go looking for insurance. We believe that’s fundamentally the wrong model for SMBs. Our USP is contextual, workflow-native distribution: insurance offered at the moment of a relevant business event, pre-populated with data the platform already holds, requiring minimal input from the SMB.
We’re also not a white-label product bolted onto one carrier. Kayna orchestrates across carriers, brokers and MGAs — so platforms get breadth of product and we can route risk to the right capacity. That multi-sided architecture is harder to replicate than a direct carrier integration.
4- What is your current stage and traction, and how can your network help in the next 6–12 months?
We’re live with partners across several verticals in the UK and US — including franchise management platforms, field service software and security sector SaaS — with carrier relationships in place including with WTW and Markel. We’re seeing meaningfully higher attachment rates inside embedded SaaS journeys than standalone digital channels, which validates the core thesis.
In the next 6–12 months, the most valuable introductions for us are into vertical SaaS platforms that serve SMBs, carriers and MGAs looking for new distribution channels, and brokers and carriers who want to modernise how they reach small commercial customers. If your network includes decision-makers in those categories — particularly in the UK and across Europe — we’d love the conversation.
5- How do you go to market? How are banks or insurers working with you (or can work with you)?
We go to market through vertical SaaS platforms, not direct to SMBs. Each platform becomes a distribution channel: we integrate our infrastructure, configure the insurance product to fit their vertical, and the platform’s existing SMB customer base becomes accessible to our carrier and broker partners.
This gives us scalable, data-rich distribution that would be almost impossible to replicate through traditional broker or aggregator channels. We prioritise verticals where insurance relevance is continuous — construction, franchises, property management, field services — rather than purely episodic.
Carriers and MGAs partner with us for access to a new distribution channel — one where the data quality is higher than traditional channels and the SMB is reached at a moment of genuine relevance. We work on a per-policy fee model, so alignment is straightforward: we only earn when they place business.
For brokers, Kayna provides the technology layer that lets them embed their proposition into SaaS platforms they couldn’t previously access. Rather than competing with brokers, we extend their reach into channels where they have no current presence. Our partnership with WTW and Belfry is a good example of this — combining Kayna’s platform infrastructure with established broker relationships and carrier capacity.
Banks with SMB SaaS propositions or embedded finance ambitions are a natural fit too. Insurance is a logical adjacency to payments, lending and accounting tools — and we can provide the infrastructure to make that extension fast and compliant.
6- Any relevant industry trends or market shifts we should be watching?
Three things worth watching closely.
First, the rise of vertical SaaS as the primary SMB operating layer. Businesses increasingly run on specialised software — not generic tools. Whoever controls that workflow interface controls the commercial relationship. Distribution will increasingly flow through these platforms, not brokers.
Second, the emergence of AI and conversational interfaces inside software. We’re already seeing platforms embed AI chatbots and agents as the primary interface for their SMB users. Insurance embedded inside an AI workflow — where the agent proactively identifies a coverage need and handles the application — is not science fiction. It’s where this goes within a few years.
Third, the regulatory and compliance pressure on SMBs is increasing. Certificate of insurance management, contractor compliance, franchise insurance obligations — these requirements are becoming more complex and platforms are being asked to help solve them. That creates structural demand for what Kayna enables.
7- What’s on your bookshelf or podcast app? Your favourite place for a coffee or a drink?
We’ve been enjoying the Cheeky Pint podcast by the Collinson brothers — an unexpectedly interesting listen that sits at the intersection of culture, business and the kind of conversations that don’t get had enough. Highly recommend it.
For tea — hard to beat the Farmgate in Cork. A brilliant institution on the English Market. If you haven’t been, go.
Paul Prendergast and Peter Bermingham aren’t just building infrastructure — they’re rewriting the rules of how SMBs stay protected. Their vision of contextual, AI-powered insurance inside everyday workflows is already delivering higher attachment rates and deeper platform stickiness.
The revolution they describe isn’t coming; it’s here. Don’t miss what’s next — more game-changing fintech conversations drop in our upcoming editions.