Zinnia’s Zahara policy admin system adds FIA chassis to product library

Zinnia today announced the addition of a pre-configured fixed indexed annuity chassis with support for guaranteed lifetime withdrawal benefits, further accelerating carriers’ speed to market.

Zahara’s FIA chassis is designed to help carriers move efficiently from product concept to launch by providing a robust, configurable foundation, Zinnia, a life insurance and annuity technology company, said in a news release.

With continued growth in the life and annuity market and increasing demand for retirement solutions, carriers are prioritizing speed, flexibility, and scale. Product launches that once took a year or more can be realized in under three months with Zahara, as carriers can now build, sell, and service life and annuity products at pace, the release noted.

The chassis includes core FIA features such as surrender charges, free withdrawals, and market value adjustments, along with income riders like GLWB and additional options such as premium bonuses and guaranteed minimum accumulation benefits. Instead of rebuilding these elements for each new product, carriers can configure them within Zahara’s modern, scalable framework, reducing development time, enabling earlier testing, and streamlining the path to launch, the release said.

“Zahara is a cornerstone of our platform and reflects our focus on delivering real outcomes for carriers,” said George Esposito, CEO of Zinnia. “This latest addition expands Zahara’s library of annuity product chassis, giving carriers more options to bring products to market faster and operate more efficiently, without disrupting the systems they rely on today. By starting with a pre-built chassis, carriers can iterate earlier, embed testing throughout development, and accelerate the path from design to launch.”

In a departure from legacy systems, Zahara is built to be fully interoperable to support established carriers and new entrants alike, the release said. Zahara offers:

● Purpose-built support for complex product features: Built-in support for calculations, benefit tracking, and policy events ensures accuracy and scalability over the life of the contract.

● Accelerated digital annuity distribution: Annuity workflows are streamlined through real-time data exchange, eliminating manual data re-entry, and enabling cleaner submissions to drive faster placement and better outcomes.

● Built-in compliance: Firm-specific rules are embedded directly into transactions, helping enable strong supervision without slowing sales.

● Rapid product development and testing: Enables faster product launches by supporting early testing and full policy lifecycle management, helping carriers meet market and regulatory demands.

● Unified system of record: Built on Canton, a digital ledger originally created by Digital Asset, Zahara maintains a complete, real-time history of every policy, giving carriers full visibility into changes, transactions, and how each policy has evolved over time.

“Zahara is a purpose-built platform that streamlines product development, enhances customer experiences, and drives industry efficiencies,” said Brad Medd, chief technology officer with Zinnia. “We're bringing transformative technology to an industry that needs and demands it to drive insurance into the future."

With the addition of the FIA chassis, Zahara continues to expand its library of pre-built product frameworks. This gives carriers the speed, flexibility, and digital infrastructure needed to compete in a rapidly evolving life and annuity market, with new products, features, and riders rolling out each quarter.