(Sofia, Bulgaria. Image credit: Wenger.)

Insurify (Cambridge, Mass), an AI-powered insurance comparison platform, has opened its first international office in Sofia, Bulgaria, which the vendor characterizes as the digital capital and vibrant tech hub of Eastern Europe. Insurify also reports that it is also growing its in-house insurance agency in an effort to provide the best fully integrated customer experience.

The new office in Sofia is home to an experienced team of 15 engineers and data scientists who are uniquely skilled in building high-growth marketplaces, according to an Insurify statement. The team was previously a part of one of the largest travel metasearch engines, Skyscanner, which closed down its operations in Sofia due to COVID-19’s impact on travel. The Sofia office will be led by Director of Engineering Konstantin Halachev, Ph.D, Skyscanner’s former Engineering Manager.

“Our new office in Bulgaria marks a pivotal growth milestone as we continue to enhance our auto, home and life insurance verticals,” comments Snejina Zacharia, CEO of Insurify. “We’re excited to bring on such a great team of engineers and data scientists who have a proven record in building machine learning recommendations for hyper-growth platforms. The team is uniquely qualified to help Insurify enhance its understanding of customer shopping behavior. A core focus for the team will be to scale Insurify’s machine learning, personalization and recommendation technology across multiple insurance verticals and channels.”

Insurify says that, in addition to opening its new office in Bulgaria, the company is also establishing a team of in-house agents, which it says is a reinforcement of its commitment to delivering a tailored insurance comparison experience online and over the phone. The company recently hired 20 agents, with plans to continue hiring more over the course of the year.

Insurify has brought on board former Answer Financial (part of Allstate, Northbrook, Ill.) executive, Shawn Powers, as VP of Sales and Operations to lead the in-house agency operations. Powers has over 15 years of experience running one of the largest service centers in the United States.

Multiple Ways to Access Insurance Shopping Experience

“Insurify is now integrating agents into our virtual process, allowing customers to work with our licensed agents from beginning to end and have an omni-channel choice of interaction,” Powers said. “We are here to provide customers with the best insurance shopping experience, and now we provide multiple ways for customers to take advantage of it.”

The in-house agents will be an available resource for customers at every step of their insurance buying journey, according to an Insurify statement. “A customer may start online, have a couple questions, engage with one of our professional agents and then return online to complete their purchase,” Powers commnts. “Conversely a customer may want professional guidance and answers throughout the process.”

Insurify’s new office in Bulgaria and team of in-house agents come at a time of rapid growth for the company, which reports that it has achieved 2.5x year-over-year growth and increased its headcount in Cambridge by over 300 percent in 2020 and by 44 percent in Q1.

This announcement follows Insurify’s partnership with Toyota Insurance Management Solutions (TIMS), providing Toyota customers with a seamless way to compare and buy car insurance policies online using Insurify’s data-driven recommendations and tailored purchase experience.

Insurify Partners with Toyota Insurance Management Solutions