Liberate Bags $50M to Advance AI in Insurance - Insurtech News

Liberate Secures $50 Million to Advance AI-Driven Insurance Automation

Liberate, a pioneering AI startup focused on automating processes within the insurance sector, has successfully completed a $50 million funding round. Battery Ventures spearheaded the investment, as the company aims to broaden the implementation of its agentic AI solutions for both insurance carriers and agencies on a global scale.

Funding Details and Valuation

This funding round, comprised entirely of equity, has established a post-money valuation of $300 million for the three-year-old company. Participation included Canapi Ventures as a new investor, alongside existing backers Redpoint Ventures, Eclipse, and Commerce Ventures.

Industry Challenges and the Rise of AI

The insurance industry is currently facing significant challenges, including escalating operational expenses and limitations imposed by outdated legacy systems. Furthermore, customer expectations are continually increasing. A recent Deloitte report projects a slowdown in global premium growth within the non-life insurance segment through 2026.

This projected slowdown is attributed to factors such as intensified competition, diminishing rate momentum, and emerging cost pressures like tariffs. While initial AI experimentation occurred within the industry, many attempts were hampered by data silos and inflexible workflows. However, a notable shift is underway, with insurers now prioritizing comprehensive AI integration into their core operations.

Liberate's Approach to Insurance Automation

Founded in 2022 and based in San Francisco, Liberate develops AI systems specifically tailored for property and casualty insurers. Its solutions address key areas like sales, customer service, and claims processing.

At the customer-facing level, Liberate’s voice AI assistant, named Nicole, manages both incoming and outgoing calls. Nicole assists in policy sales and handles service inquiries. Internally, a network of AI agents leverages reasoning capabilities to connect with existing insurer systems.

These agents gather necessary context and formulate responses delivered by Nicole, all without requiring human intervention.

End-to-End Task Automation

Liberate’s AI agents are engineered to complete entire tasks, rather than simply answering questions or routing requests. This includes functions such as generating policy quotes, processing claims, and updating policy endorsements.

The agents are also capable of interacting with customers via SMS and email, enabling insurers to automate more of their daily operations across multiple communication channels.

Growth Potential and Market Opportunity

“Insurance companies are seeking avenues for growth, but are currently constrained in their ability to achieve it,” stated Amrish Singh, co-founder and CEO of Liberate. “The current situation represents a significant opportunity.”

Singh established Liberate following nearly four years at Metromile, a car insurance company owned by Lemonade, where he contributed to both technological development and back-office operations. He collaborated with Ryan Eldridge, Liberate’s VP of engineering, also formerly of Metromile, and Jason St. Pierre, the company’s CPO, who previously held positions at Twitter, Google, and Verily.

Proven Results and Customer Base

According to Singh, Liberate’s AI systems have demonstrated an average sales increase of 15% and a cost reduction of 23%. The startup currently serves over 60 customers, focusing on the top 100 carriers and agencies, representing 70% to 80% of the U.S. property and casualty insurance market.

Reinforcement Learning and Compliance

The technology utilizes reinforcement learning specifically adapted for lengthy, regulated insurance conversations. All interactions are fully auditable and incorporate human-in-the-loop safeguards to ensure adherence to compliance standards.

Scaling Automation and Monitoring

Over the past year, Liberate has expanded its automation capabilities from 10,000 monthly tasks to 1.3 million automated resolutions. This encompasses both direct customer interactions through its voice AI and back-office tasks managed by AI agents integrated into insurer systems.

Recognizing that AI systems are not yet infallible, Liberate employs an internal tool called Supervisor to monitor all agent-customer interactions. This software identifies potential issues and escalates to a human agent when the AI’s response deviates from expected parameters.

Focused Expertise and Industry Impact

“The benefit of concentrating on a single industry, and within that, only three specific use cases, is the ability to implement robust safeguards,” Singh explained.

Liberate reports that its agents have reduced hurricane claim response times from 30 hours to just 30 seconds for its clients.

The AI agents also facilitate 24/7 sales operations, enabling customers to purchase insurance at any time, even outside of traditional business hours.

Future Plans and Investment Strategy

Prior to this round, Liberate secured a $15 million Series A funding round last year. Its voice AI-powered omnichannel experience and its capacity to fully automate tasks through system integration were key factors in attracting further investment.

“Liberate excels at mapping processes, modeling them, and ensuring that all system connections are thoroughly tested and designed to complete tasks, not merely communicate,” stated Marcus Ryu, a general partner at Battery Ventures.

Ryu, with prior experience in the property and casualty insurance sector at Guidewire Software, specializes in enterprise software, fintech, and insurtech investments at Battery Ventures. He will be joining Liberate’s board of directors.

The Series B funding will be allocated to enhance Liberate’s reasoning capabilities and support wider deployment across insurers. To date, the startup has raised $72 million and employs approximately 50 individuals.