At first glance, insurance can look deceptively simple. If it costs 20p to cover a single parcel, why not just add 20p to each shipment and “self-insure”?

It sounds logical, until you look under the hood.

Just like shipping itself, insurance isn’t just the cost of the stamp on the box. You can’t simply replicate the infrastructure that sits behind it, the systems, regulation, data, and processes that make it work, without significant time, cost, and expertise.

Let’s break that down.

If shipping were that simple, we’d all own our own delivery vans.

You can send a parcel through a courier for a few pounds. But that price doesn’t reflect what it costs to be a courier.

To deliver that parcel, the courier has invested in:

• A logistics network that spans thousands of routes
  
  

• Staff, depots, vehicles, and IT systems
  
  

• Tracking technology, customer support, and compliance

Without that infrastructure, the £3.50 delivery fee wouldn’t exist.

Insurance works the same way.

Insurance isn’t just cover; it’s an ecosystem.

Behind every insurance policy sits an entire infrastructure that protects your business and your customers. That includes:

• Regulation and compliance: Every policy must meet strict financial and legal standards to ensure customers are actually protected.
  
  

• Risk modelling: Underwriters and data scientists calculate loss ratios, exposure, and probabilities. Not guesses, but millions of data points.
  
  

• Claims handling systems: You need technology, people, and process automation to assess, approve, and pay out legitimate claims efficiently.
  
  

• Fraud prevention: Identifying false or duplicate claims is a science in itself and one that saves businesses significant money.
  
  

• Financial backing: Regulated insurers must prove they can pay every valid claim, no matter how bad the day gets. That capital reserve is part of the cost. So if you want to insure for £20 million losses you need £20 million of capital untouchable in reserve.

Without that infrastructure, 40p per parcel isn’t insurance. It’s a bad gamble.

Self-insurance doesn’t mean zero cost. It means hidden cost.

Many retailers think self-insuring means saving money. But the opposite is often true.

When you self-insure, you become the insurer. 

That means you carry the risk, and you have to build (and maintain) everything insurers already have in place:

• Processes to validate, record, and resolve claims
  
  

• A dedicated team to review and pay claims fairly
  
  

• Data systems to track trends and detect fraud
  
  

• Financial reserves to cover losses
  
  

• Compliance oversight and legal accountability

That’s before you factor in the human cost. Your team’s time spent managing disputes, reconciling invoices, and chasing claims. It’s why operational inefficiency and missed accountability are among the top sources of hidden loss in retail.

Real insurance builds resilience, not admin.

At Anansi, insurance isn’t a standalone add-on. It’s part of a connected infrastructure that combines:

• Regulated cover (backed by Lloyd’s of London and A rated UK based insurer Greenlight Re and supported by OneAdvent)
  
  

• Automation and technology platform to manage and reduce admin and errors
  
  

• Data to identify trends, monitor performance, and stop losses before they grow
  
  

That’s how you get a 98% claims success rate, predictable cash flow, and full control over where money is lost or recovered.

The value of insurance isn’t just in the payout.  it’s in the protection, efficiency, and accountability it brings to your operation. The resilience you need to succeed.

Just because you can price something doesn’t mean you can replicate it. The 20p isn’t just insurance. It’s an entire infrastructure built to protect your business at scale.

Not sure if you're building in resiliency? Give us a call.