Modern Life, the AI-powered life insurance brokerage, has raised $20 million in Series A funding led by Thrive Capital, with participation from New York Life Ventures, Northwestern Mutual, and Allegis. The company’s total funding now stands at $35 million, with support from some of the largest players in the life insurance industry.
The funding comes as Modern Life works to modernise a sector that has seen limited technological advancement. The U.S. life insurance market is valued at approximately $175 billion, with an estimated 90% of policies sold through advisors. However, the process remains time-intensive, with permanent life policies typically taking six months to close.
Modern Life’s platform uses artificial intelligence to streamline the advisor-client relationship, embedding AI throughout the client journey, from initial quoting to policy delivery.
Addressing industry complexity through automation
Life insurance represents one of the more complex retail financial products, requiring advisors to navigate tradeoffs between financial optimisation, tax planning, medical underwriting, and carrier-specific requirements. Modern Life’s approach focuses on reducing this complexity through automated processes.
“We started Modern Life to solve a clear problem: we believe that advisors have an incredibly important job but face a complex and dizzying set of obstacles to serving their clients well,” said Michael Konialian, Founder and CEO of Modern Life. “We provide everything that advisors need to deliver better client outcomes and run their firms more efficiently, at scale.”
The platform assists advisors in four key areas. Underwriting and risk assessment capabilities allow the system to analyse medical and financial data in minutes rather than weeks, while identifying competitive carriers for individual client needs. The advice and recommendations function helps advisors integrate insurance, tax, and financial planning considerations.
Improving workflow efficiency
Modern Life’s workflow automates processes, highlighting appropriate information when needed. The platform consolidates client data, quotes, applications, and medical evidence through a unified dashboard.
Advisors can access more than 30 carriers and major product types, including permanent and term life, annuities, and long-term care. When it comes to generating policies, it can provide quotes in minutes, down from the hours or days that previous systems took.
The company reports that clients can achieve cost savings of up to 20% through improved product selection and underwriting processes.
Established industry players show support
The participation of major insurers in the funding round reflects growing industry recognition of the need for technological advancement. Nabil Mallick, Partner at Thrive Capital, noted the market opportunity. “Life insurance remains one of the biggest untapped opportunities in financial services,” Mallick said. “Modern Life is reimagining how the industry works by empowering advisors with cutting-edge, AI-powered tools, unlocking lasting value for the entire ecosystem.”
Tim Del Bello, Head of Investments at New York Life Ventures, emphasised the continued importance of advisors. “Our experience at New York Life Ventures points to a simple truth: advisors are essential to how life insurance is purchased,” Del Bello said. “Modern Life has built its growth on this foundation, using AI to elevate what advisors do best – serving their clients.”
Platform built for regulatory compliance
Modern Life maintains SOC 2 certification and enterprise-grade data security measures. The company is licensed in all 50 US states and focuses on integrating what previously required multiple legacy tools into a single platform.
The company’s approach combines advanced technology with deep industry expertise to streamline insurance processes while maintaining the advisor-client relationship. With its Series A funding secured, Modern Life plans to expand strategic partnerships and continue product development.
