A Note from Our Founder, Yaron

It is with mixed emotion that I am sharing that I have decided to leave Haven Technologies as its CEO. I still strongly believe in the mission of the company, and look forward to supporting Todd and Ayan in ensuring a smooth transition and continuity.??

These past eight plus years, as we’ve built Haven Life and more recently, Haven Tech – have been the most gratifying of my career. I was privileged to work in a meaningfully important industry, on exceedingly interesting problems, and with some of the best people that I have ever worked with.

When I started in the life insurance industry nearly ten years ago, the word insurtech did not yet exist and technology was viewed purely as a service organization at most carriers, not as a strategic imperative.

Back then, data was trapped inside PDF documents or stuck on pieces of paper that could not be leveraged.

Back then, few if any carriers were taking the cloud seriously.

Back then, customer experience wasn't a priority and certainly not the idea that buying life insurance should be completely digital and seamless, regardless of channel.

Back then, the web was just another ‘shelf’ where products manufactured in the carrier’s home office might find their way to intermediaries who generate online leads and push them into these antiquated products and experiences.

And so we began Haven Life with a simple idea: that focusing on the customer and using technology to build seamless experiences would reduce friction and, ultimately, add value to both customers and to the industry.?

There were many skeptics and unanswered questions when we began. Often, the doubters would mask their apprehension behind absolutist statements. ‘Customers want to talk to people not websites.’ ‘Insurance will never be bought online.’ ‘Underwriting is too complicated to automate it fully.’? And so on. Yet, we benefited both from our own conviction as well as the steadfast support and vision of the leadership at our parent company, MassMutual.

Haven Life became a proof point, to ourselves but also to the industry more broadly, that following a customer need and placing technology squarely at the center of your strategy can make a difference. We showed that, done right, many customers would seek out a life insurance company online and, in many cases, even complete the purchase online. We proved that if you used all the data that carriers already collected within a real-time, digital experience layer, it could be a game-changer for accelerated underwriting programs and the purchase experience overall. We proved that having a digital purchase experience could improve customer satisfaction and loyalty – all while providing an important protection product for countless families.

Nearly ten years on, the discussion in the industry has dramatically changed. I no longer have conversations about ‘if’ the cloud is important or ‘if’ online will be part of the distribution mix. The questions today now all revolve around how to best achieve these things in a given context. This is a good sign that more change is coming, and I believe that the players that take this change seriously and approach it thoughtfully, consistent with their strategy, will be the players that will win the next decade.

Haven Tech represents a substantive belief and investment by MassMutual in this change – that technology can help these industry providers achieve the transformation they need and innovate products and experience that their customers will want. It is a culmination of all those proof points and experiences that we had in those early years.

I know that Haven Tech will succeed not just because I believe so strongly in the opportunity, but also because the company we built is based on a mission to do the right thing and to help make the industry better. And the team that remains is just as committed to that mission. Already, by having one major client and two more at the contract signing stage, Haven Tech is on a path to success.

At the same time, I am a person that is more excited by the ‘if’ questions than the ‘how.’ My passion is for the messy, creative early stages of a company or innovation. What I enjoy most is illuminating the paths where others see only ambiguity. For this reason, nearly ten years on, I find that it is time for me to move on and let others build on the foundation we put in place at Haven Tech.

It’s been a true honor to lead this organization these past years, and I want to thank the many employees, partners, and supporters who gave their talents and energies to bring us to this point. I am deeply indebted to all of you. I am also grateful that Todd Rodgers, together with Ayan and the rest of the leadership team, is so well positioned to take the reins and guide the company moving forward to continued success. Todd and I have been partners for seven years, working side by side to put in place many of the things that define Haven as a culture and organization.

I know many more good things are just ahead for Haven Tech and I can’t wait to watch them, just from a slightly different vantage point.

Please keep in touch.

Yaron