Build vs. Buy for Your Insurance Core in 2026: What Should a Startup Do?

Launching an insurance startup is as much about strategy as it is about vision. Every choice in your first few years shapes how fast you can grow, how easily you can adapt, and how much trust you build with investors and partners. One of the most important decisions comes early: should you build your core insurance system from scratch, or buy a ready-made solution?

It’s a decision that can accelerate your path to market or create challenges you’ll want to anticipate early. In 2026, when speed, compliance, and scalability are more critical than ever, startups can’t afford to approach this lightly.

The Stakes for Startups

Core systems – policy administration, billing, claims – are the infrastructure of your business. They determine how quickly you can launch, how easily you can scale, and how confidently you can stay compliant.

For startups, the stakes are especially high:

• Funding runway is limited. You need to show traction before capital dries up.
• Regulators are watching. Compliance failures can close doors before you’ve even opened them.
• Partners demand readiness. Carriers and distributors want assurance that your systems can handle real-world complexity.

In 2026, with investor scrutiny sharper and market expectations higher, your choice between build vs. buy can either clear your path or put obstacles in your way.

What “Build” Really Means

At first glance, building your own system sounds appealing. You get complete control over features, data, and long-term direction. Done right, a custom-built platform can even become intellectual property that sets you apart from competitors.

But for most startups, the challenges outweigh the benefits:

• High cost: Development requires a large upfront investment and ongoing spend for updates.
• Delays: Launch timelines stretch as your team gets bogged down in code instead of customers.
• Complexity: Insurance regulation isn’t simple. Building compliant workflows in-house is a massive undertaking.
• Maintenance burden: Once you build it, you own it, and that means constant upkeep.

For new agencies, the real risk isn’t a lack of market demand, it’s drowning in operations. According to the NAIC, there are more than 36,000 independent P&C agencies in the U.S., but most remain very small, with only a fraction ever scaling meaningfully. Without efficient systems, agencies can burn valuable time on manual tasks instead of building carrier relationships and driving growth. “Build” often becomes a distraction from selling policies and serving clients.

What “Buy” Really Means

On the other end of the spectrum, “buy” means licensing or subscribing to an existing platform for policy admin, billing, and claims.

For startups, the benefits are clear:

• Speed to market: Proven systems can launch in weeks instead of years.
• Built-in compliance: Vendors typically design with regulatory frameworks in mind.
• Vendor support: You’re not maintaining every line of code yourself.

But there are trade-offs:

• Less flexibility: You’re bound by the vendor’s roadmap.
• Licensing costs: Ongoing fees can stack up as you grow.
• Potential rigidity: The wrong system may not scale with you, or may force you into cumbersome workarounds.

That said, startups that buy can sometimes get pilot programs off the ground in under 90 days – an advantage for investor confidence. But if the platform isn’t designed for growth, scaling into new products or jurisdictions can become unexpectedly difficult.

The Balanced Approach: Buy + Customize

The real conversation isn’t simply build vs. buy. It’s about finding a balance that protects your runway while leaving room for innovation.

Many startups are leaning into systems they can buy quickly, then customize for their unique needs. This approach:

• Gets you to market fast.
• Keeps you compliant out of the box.
• Lets you differentiate with custom layers, workflows, and user experiences.
• Preserves the option to evolve without starting over.

Rather than betting everything on a custom build, or locking yourself into a rigid vendor, this approach gives startups the best of both worlds: a strong, reliable core and the freedom to shape it as they grow.

How to Decide: Key Questions for Startups

Not every startup has the same path. Here are questions every founder team should ask before deciding:

1. What’s your runway?
   Can you afford to spend 18 months building before launch, or do you need revenue in the next two quarters?
2. What matters most – speed or differentiation?
   If speed and compliance are critical, buying is often best. If differentiation is the heart of your value, you may need more custom layers.
3. Do you have the in-house expertise?
   Building isn’t just about coding, it’s about maintaining, securing, and upgrading over time.
4. What do investors and partners expect?
   Investors pay close attention to how prepared an agency is to handle growth, often viewing operational resilience and compliance readiness as proof that the business can scale responsibly.

West Point’s Perspective

At West Point, we’ve seen this decision play out many times:

• Startups that spend too long building often miss their window of opportunity.
• Startups that buy inflexible platforms can find themselves boxed in when it’s time to scale.

We know these challenges because we’ve lived them. Our team once operated as an MGA, facing the same pressures to balance compliance, speed, and limited runway. That experience shaped how we built West Point – not just as a technology vendor, but as a partner who understands what it takes to succeed in insurance from the inside out.

That’s why our platform is purpose-built for startups:

• Policy Administration, Billing, and Claims that are fully customizable, compliance-ready, and quick to deploy.
• Deploy in as few as 30 days, keeping your startup moving at the speed of opportunity.
• Self-service tools that let you adapt without developers, so your team can stay lean.
• Low-overhead design that keeps costs manageable while you scale.
• Trusted partnership with experts who guide you through each stage of growth.

With West Point, you don’t have to choose between building or buying. You get the speed and confidence of proven technology, plus the flexibility to make it your own as you grow.

Practical Takeaways

• Build = full control, but high cost and long timelines.
• Buy = speed and compliance, but risk of rigidity.
• Buy + customize = speed, flexibility, and control over the future.
• Startups in 2026 should prioritize solutions that let them launch quickly and confidently while keeping options open.

How Can West Point Help You

Choosing your core system is one of the most important decisions your startup will make. You don’t have to make the decision alone.

Request a demo today to see how West Point helps startups launch quickly, scale confidently, and stay compliant with systems that grow as you do.