New York, NY and Columbus, OH
February 10, 2026

Akur8, the next generation insurance pricing and reserving solution powered by Transparent AI, today announced an expanded partnership with Branch, the Columbus-based insurer that uses data, technology, and automation to make bundling home and auto insurance easier than ever. 

Branch originally selected Akur8 in 2025 to bring greater speed, consistency, and transparency to its actuarial workflow. With the addition of Akur8 Discover, Branch gains on-demand visibility into regulatory filings across the U.S. market and strengthens its commitment to delivering fair, competitive rates to its members.

Akur8 Discover transforms unstructured U.S. regulatory filings into structured, searchable intelligence, giving pricing and actuarial teams faster access to insights on market behavior, rate changes, market positioning, and regulatory trends. For insurers like Branch, this streamlines research workflows and supports more informed pricing decisions, especially when historical data is limited or market dynamics evolve rapidly.

Management Comments

Joe Emison, Co-Founder and CTO, Branch

“Pricing is both a technical and strategic discipline. Akur8 has helped us bring modern tooling and transparency to our pricing processes. By adopting Akur8 Discover, we’re adding a new layer of regulatory and market intelligence that strengthens how we assess trends, validate assumptions, and support responsible growth.”

Samuel Falmagne, CEO, Akur8

“Branch represents the new generation of data-driven insurers. Their decision to adopt Akur8 Discover reflects a forward-looking approach to pricing and market awareness. We are proud to support Branch with a unified suite that brings modeling, governance, and market intelligence together on one platform.”

Sergey Filimonov, Head of Applied AI, Akur8, and Co-Founder of Matrisk AI

“Regulatory filings hold enormous pricing signals, but extracting it has meant weeks of manual work. In an early Branch use case, a member of Branch’s pricing team reproduced two and a half weeks of coverage and filing research in a couple of hours with Akur8 Discover. That’s the shift: faster market insight with traceability back to the source.”

Branch’s adoption of Akur8 Discover highlights a broader trend among modern U.S. carriers seeking integrated pricing platforms that can support speed, rigor, and market awareness without sacrificing transparency or actuarial control.

About Branch

Branch was founded in 2018 by insurance veteran Steve Lekas and tech entrepreneur Joe Emison with a mission to make insurance more accessible so more people can be covered. Branch brings deep data and technology expertise to bear to improve the entire insurance experience for consumers, agencies, and carriers. For consumers and agencies, Branch operates the Branch Insurance Exchange, a modern-day insurance cooperative powered by a revolutionary instant-bind capability that removes all of the friction associated with getting covered so consumers can bundle their home and auto insurance with ease and save money faster than ever before. For mutual insurance carriers specifically, Branch offers services spanning the entire insurance value chain through Ember (embermutuals.com)   

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Branch is a Public Benefit Corporation and Certified B Corporation committed to meeting high standards of social and environmental performance, and accountability.

About Akur8

Akur8 is transforming insurance pricing and reserving with an innovative suite of Transparent AI solutions. Akur8’s Next Gen Pricing Platform empowers actuaries and pricing teams to build better models faster, with greater transparency, performance, and governance. More than 300 insurers across 40+ countries rely on Akur8 for pricing and reserving, from global carriers to digital challengers and specialty providers. Learn more at akur8.com.

Media Contacts‍

Heide Sacher
Head of Marketing, US & Canada
Akur8
heide.sacher@akur8.com

Dan Spiegal
Vice President, Head of Marketing
Branch
dan@branch.com