Apollo, a Skyward Group company, has partnered with U.S. insurtech startup ZenHedge to bring to market Freight Expense Insurance, a parametric insurance solution designed to protect U.S. shippers from unexpected freight cost increases caused by freight carriers rejecting bids.
ZenHedge’s proprietary platform leverages data pulled from shippers’ transportation management systems (TMS) to assess freight lane risk and predict rejection bid activity, enabling more efficient, analytics-driven risk transfer. The product will debut in the United States, a market that accounts for more than 70% of total freight volume and has historically had limited protection against such cost risks.
Apollo is sponsoring ZenHedge as a Lloyd’s approved underwriter, providing underwriting capacity, market coverage and strategic support to help build and scale the solution. Aon has further strengthened its collaboration, with Aon’s reinsurance, digital economy brokerage and licensing teams in the US and London supporting the initiative.
Hayley Budd, Head of Innovation at Apollo, said: “We are excited to partner with ZenHedge and Aon to bring a truly innovative solution to one of the challenges facing the U.S. supply chain. Bid rejections create costly uncertainty for cargo shippers, and ZenHedge provides a practical, data-driven way to protect customers’ operations from such bid rejection events. This partnership demonstrates our commitment to supporting forward-thinking MGAs who are is reshaping how risk is understood and insured, particularly in global supply chains. We are excited about the scale and future potential this product and partnership represents.”
ZenHedge Founder and CEO Krishnan Kandasamy added: “ZenHedge is proud to partner with Apollo and Aon, leaders in insurance innovation, to bring freight expense insurance products to the U.S. market. Shippers have long relied on a patchwork of digital freight technology and freight carrier relationships to manage freight risk. Our product addresses a significant insurance gap in critical supply chain ecosystems.”
“Apollo’s innovation team has a successful track record of partnering with insurtech startups to bring breakthrough technology, risk models and underwriting capabilities to the insurance industry. Aon’s reinsurance, brokerage and licensing teams provide insurance startups like ZenHedge with a seamless end-to-end platform to succeed. We are grateful to Apollo and Aon for the guidance and support provided and look forward to the tremendous potential of this breakthrough product and the opportunities it will bring.”