Socotra overview

Socotra is a cloud-native core platform that enables insurance companies to rapidly develop and deploy new products. The company was founded in 2014 and is based in San Francisco.

The platform's cloud-native backend, open configuration and APIs empower insurers to deploy technology with their choice of engineering resources, and can unify underwriting, policy management, claims, reinsurance, reporting, and more.

The company announced it had raised $15.2 Million Series B funding in January 2020, in a round led by Brewer Lane Ventures. The new capital will be used to further accelerate product development, and support continued growth in the US, Europe, and Australia. The announcement also revealed that former New York Life President John Kim has joined Socotra Board.

Later that year, in May, it was revealed RGAX had chosen Socotra as its policy administration system, with the latter developing new life insurance products via Greenhouse Life, RGAX's life insurance company.

In December 2020, TONI Digital launched a new Insurance-as-a-Service platform on Socotra.

In March 2021 Sigo revealed it had selected Socotra as its core platform for the launch of its new personal auto product.

The following month, in April, Socotra announced Bamboo Insurance had adopted Socotra's cloud-native core platform.

In July 2021 global (re)insurance MS Amlin chose Socotra as the core backend system for its new digital SME insurance initiative. It will initially launch in Belgium, the Netherlands, UK, and France, with product offerings that include fleet, commercial liability, property, and commercial packages.

In October 2021 Socotra partnered with no-code enterprise application platform Unqork to help insurers accelerate transformation and create new digital experiences. Working in parallel, the two companies will provide end-to-end core functionality, from rating to claims, whilst Socotra enables customers to create software quicker and cheaper.

In March 2022 Socotra raised $50m in Series C funding, after seeing ARR increase more than 9.5x in the past three years. The company also revealed it had gained 17 new customers in 2021 alone, with its client list now including AXA ,IAG, MS Amlin and Hippo. The new funds will be used to broaden its reach in Europe and Australia, and expand its Marketplace ecosystem capabilities.

In March 2022 Gradient AI announced it would partner with Socotra. Through the new collaboration, Gradient AI will be able to integrate its AI solution with Socotra's cloud-native insurance platform, granting insurers to access Gradient's dataset, which includes tens of millions of policies and claims. The partnership will enable insurers to price risk more accurately and reduce claims expenses and loss ratios.

In May 2022 Socotra acquired front-end software specialist Avolanta. As part of the deal, Avolanta's team is set to join Socotra and Avolanta's technology will be now called Socotra Unified Portal. The combined platform will help insurers develop new products more quickly, as well as offer enhanced buying experienced across different distribution channels.

In August 2022 Socotra has reported on its H1 2022 results claiming 97% ARR growth and 63% team expansion. Later in October the company announced it was to launch a new affordable insurance for owners, renters and landlors of manufactured homes in collaboration with insurtech CoverTree. 

During February 2023 it planned a major push into Europe, starting with the UK, DACH and France.

Quantee, has partnered with the Socotra App Marketplace, making its pricing platform available to all of Socotra’s global customers. Built on Socotra’s cloud-native and API-driven platform, the App MarketPlace empowers insurers to instantly connect to a wide array of apps that improve every aspect of the insurance value chain, including data providers and platforms, rating, document management, payment processing, claims user interfaces, customer communications, e-signatures, and third-party app publishers. 

In June 2023 Socotra partnered with Ledgebrook (an  InsurTech MGA focused on the excess and surplus market) announced the launch of Ledgebrook’s new platform, powered by Socotra Connected Core. The new end-to-end platform aims to drastically improve speed and service in the US wholesale broker market through providing a faster and simpler quoting method. 

Later in June 2023 insurance intelligence provider Cloverleaf Analytics partnered Socotra. The partnership brings together Socotra's cloud-native core platform for insurers with Cloverleaf's Insurance Intelligence platform. It enables insurers to transition seamlessly from disparate data systems to Socotra, consolidating and validating the data through the Cloverleaf Insurance Intelligence platform resulting in advanced self-service analytics.

In July 2023 Landlord insurance solutions provider, Steadily, implemented the Socotra Connected Core policy administration system. Later in July Tensorflight partnered with Socotra to offer automated property inspection services through the Socotra App MarketPlace. 

During August 2023 the company partnered with high-risk homeowners insurance provider Annex Risk. Annex Risk has implemented Socotra Connected Core, the cloud-native insurance policy core platform and is now able to close critical coverage gaps in coastal Texas, Florida, and the Eastern Seaboard. Annex Risk’s innovative platform combines algorithmic underwriting and capacity, empowering retail agents to quote and bind high-risk homeowners insurance in less than 2 minutes.

Map showing the location of Socotra

San Francisco, United States

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Key people

John Kim Board Member
Dan Woods Founder and CEO
Heidi Friedrikson Director of Operations
Ken Holmes VP of Sales
George Ravich Fractional CMO