Hepstar

API platform connecting travel merchants to personalised insurance and ancillary products

Distribution & Sales Growth Seed

Overview

Hepstar is a travel insurance distribution and ancillary product platform for online travel merchants, including airlines, bus and ferry operators, and online travel agencies. Founded in 2013 and relaunched in its current form in 2016, the company is headquartered in Cape Town, South Africa and operates globally.

The platform integrates via a single API to give travel partners access to over 80,000 product variations across 21 product categories, covering travel insurance, cancellation protection, baggage recovery, lounge access, eSIM connectivity, and other travel ancillaries. A machine learning and behavioural analytics engine personalises product recommendations for each customer segment based on anonymous contextual data collected during the booking flow, with the goal of improving conversion among travellers who do not typically purchase insurance.

Hepstar has served partners including RailEurope, CarTrawler, Hippo.co.za, Cleartrip, and Royal Brunei Airlines, with reported outcomes including significant revenue uplifts from ancillary programs. The company received seed funding of USD 2M from Amadeus Capital Partners and Plug and Play Traveltech, and has been recognised in the InsurTech 100 and CB Insights Insurtech Expert Collection.

Products & Services

Single-Source API Integration

A REST API giving travel merchants a single integration point for access to the full Hepstar product catalogue. Partners can configure booking flow sales, white-label standalone storefronts, agent portal back-office sales, and a sales dashboard without requiring separate integrations for each product category.

Key Features

80,000+ product variations across 21 categories
Booking flow and standalone deployment options
Continuous optimisation and A/B testing built in

Target Users: Airlines, bus operators, ferry services, and online travel agencies

Travel Insurance Distribution

Distribution of travel cancellation, medical, and gadget insurance products to travellers at point of booking, personalised via the platform's ML recommendations engine.

Key Features

Cancellation cover, medical insurance, gadget cover
Personalised product recommendations per customer segment
Designed to convert the majority of travellers who skip insurance

Target Users: Online travel merchants and their end customers

SmartDelay

A lounge access product providing flight-delayed passengers with access to airport lounges when delays occur, distributed as part of the ancillary bundle.

Target Users: Airline and OTA partners

Refund Protect

A cancellation guarantee product enabling travellers to cancel bookings and receive refunds through the partner distribution network.

Target Users: Online travel merchants

Blue Ribbon Bags

A baggage guarantee and recovery service integrated into the ancillary product suite, covering checked baggage for travellers.

Target Users: Airlines, ferry and bus operators

Global Connectivity / eSIM

eSIM and global connectivity products for international travellers, providing mobile connectivity across multiple destinations through a single product.

Target Users: International travellers via travel merchant partners