Insurtech Award Recognition Fuels Folio's Next Chapter

When Folio was named the 2025 ANZIIF New Zealand Insurtech Startup of the Year, it marked a significant turning point for the start-up founded in 2020 by Roneel Kumar and Alistar Monk.

“It was really meaningful for us,” says Kumar. “We weren’t sitting there expecting that we would win. We were there to support the industry and support other people we knew were up for awards.”

In the relentless pace of today’s Insurtech, the award offered something rare: a pause. “It gave our team a moment to sit back and look at each other and go, ‘Hey, what we’ve built is something quite cool,’” says Kumar.

For Folio, the recognition marked the moment the business transitioned from a startup to a scale-up. “It felt like the industry recognised and understood what we were doing, and supported us,” Kumar explains. “That validation meant a lot.”

Since then, the impact has been tangible. “It’s done wonders for the business already,” Kumar confirms. “It changed how we looked at ourselves internally and the level of maturity we needed to step into the next phase.”

Built by brokers, for brokers 

At its core, Folio is a hyper-focused broker platform. “Folio is designed by brokers for brokers,” Kumar explains. “We believe operational drag in broking should never get in the way of great advice.”

The platform brings together the best parts of CRM, workflow and record management into one modular, integration-first system. Crucially, it fits into how brokerages already operate.

“Change is hard,” he says. “So we designed our technology so it can slot into any brokerage as it exists today. We measure ourselves on how quickly a brokerage sees ROI.”

The idea emerged during a period when direct-to-consumer insurance was dominating the narrative. Kumar and Monk saw something different.

“In commercial and complex risk lines, it didn’t feel right that direct was the utopia,” Kumar tells. “Brokers want to provide great advice to turn this complex insurance world into the human world. But they were being held back.”

Outdated systems, tightening compliance requirements and commission pressure were squeezing brokers from all sides. “The broker was getting squeezed in the middle. Good work was getting harder and harder to provide.”

Folio was built to relieve that pressure by improving distribution efficiency, not to replace brokers, but to strengthening their ability to operate in the new landscape.

Hyper-focused and lean by design

From the outset, Folio rejected the archetype of the fast-and-loose tech startup. “We didn’t want to build a typical tech company,” Kumar says. “Everyone who joins Folio needs to understand the customer, the industry and the technology.”

That shared understanding creates a culture where every team member has a voice. “Everybody can articulate a problem in a way that makes sense for the user.” The business runs lean.

“We need to make sure everyone’s on the journey and driving toward the same outcomes.”

On leadership, Roneel is direct. “My philosophy is that I’m going to do what needs to be done to achieve the outcomes we’ve set for ourselves, and I surround myself with the best people I can.”

To support scale, he established an external board as the company matured. “When we shifted into scale-up mode, I purposefully put a board in place to keep me in check. That’s been a game changer.”

Foundations and formative influences

Born in Fiji, Kumar grew up in Lower Hutt, New Zealand from the age of two. His early fascination with technology came from exposure outside his immediate family circle.

“My eyes were opened to this thing called technology, digital and computers,” he recalls. “It just gelled with me.”

Equally influential was watching friends’ families run small businesses. “It made me realise you don’t need to wait for permission to build something better.”

His work ethic, however, comes from home. “My dad would always challenge me. If I said something was hard, he’d say, ‘It’s not hard, you just don’t understand it yet.’ And that has really stuck with me.”

Before founding Folio, Kumar built his career at IBM and Datacom, progressing to principal architect across the latter company’s ACC account, an experience that shaped both his technical depth and leadership perspective.

Industry challenges and the role of insurtech

Kumar sees both friction and opportunity in the Insurtech landscape across New Zealand and Australia. “Insurance is a complex ecosystem. That complexity can become a real barrier for Insurtech,” he says. “It’s not necessarily the technical build; it’s keeping up with the rate of change.”

Rapid advances in AI and large language models present a new frontier. “If we can stitch these tools together in a way that reduces the burden of change; where the technology adapts to the user, that’s where it gets interesting.”

On funding, he is pragmatic. Folio has been bootstrapped from day one. “The height of 2020 capital, that’s gone,” he says. “If you’re starting today, you need to run lean and prove you can create value and even turn a small profit. That discipline matters.”

Beyond technology, the insurance system itself faces structural challenges: rising premiums, capital pressures and access constraints. “Insurance should be available to everyone,” he says. “When it becomes inaccessible, that’s not what it’s about.”

Where to from here?

For Insurtech broadly, Kumar expects continued growth, both in solving large distribution challenges and in hyper-focused solutions such as claims efficiency. For Folio, the strategy is clear.

“The opportunity is to stick to what we know we do better than anybody else,” he says. “We don’t need to be everything. We can play a vital role in the ecosystem.” After establishing itself in New Zealand, Folio entered the Australian market in August last year and has seen strong adoption.

“It felt like we got the timing right. The problems Folio solves were coming to a head in Australia.” Next comes deeper expansion across Australia and, in time, other intermediated markets.

For Kumar, the approach remains disciplined: walk before you run, build with purpose, and never lose sight of the broker at the centre. As he puts it: “It’s not about chasing every opportunity. It’s about shifting the needle where we know we can make a real difference.”

Shift the needle for your organisation. Enter the 2026 Australian Insurance Industry Awards now