Case Study:
Laka Insurance Widget
Encouraging bike insurance at the point of purchase
Designing an on-site widget for Laka to integrate into retailer websites, aimed at increasing customer uptake of insurance alongside new bike purchases.
Laka Bike Insurance
Bristol, UK
Retail / Insurance / Sport
Understanding the Problem
Making insurance a natural step in the buying journey
For the customer, insurance is often an afterthought. The key barriers are lack of clarity (“what’s actually covered?”), lack of trust (“will the claim really be paid?”), and lack of convenience (“do I have to fill in forms or log in?”). To overcome these, the widget needed to:
Communicate coverage in plain, simple language.
Provide a quick, transparent quote with minimal input.
Build credibility through trust signals such as reviews or social proof.
For the retailer, the risk was that a widget might feel like an upsell that disrupted the emotional journey of buying a new bike. Retailers would not want to increase basket abandonment rates or create extra decision points. The widget therefore needed to be seamless, lightweight, and aligned with the flow of purchase.
This balance shaped the rest of the design process.
Mapping the Customer Journey
Understanding user and retailer needs
I mapped a typical online bike buying journey to identify potential insertion points for the widget:
During bike configuration, before adding to basket.
Immediately after adding to basket, as a modal pop-up.
On the basket or checkout page.
After purchase completion.
Each placement offered advantages and disadvantages. For example, introducing insurance at checkout provided urgency but risked creating “sticker shock” and abandonment. Post-purchase avoided disruption but was too late to influence intent. The most compelling option was during the bike configuration stage, when the user was still making decisions about their purchase.
At this point, insurance could be presented as a considered add-on, personalised to the bike being built. If the widget could pull through details like make, model, and price, the quote would feel bespoke, relevant, and transparent — reducing the chance of abandonment later in the flow.
Placement Analysis
Defining user journeys and priorities
Through this analysis, two placements emerged as the strongest recommendations:
Bike configuration stage: The most user-friendly option. Customers were still in decision-making mode, and insurance felt like part of the ownership experience rather than an add-on. It also provided transparency by showing the true cost of ownership before checkout.
Checkout page: A secondary option. Insurance here acted as a safeguard at the moment of purchase, when the value of the bike was top of mind. While effective, it carried higher risk of abandonment if presented poorly.
The other options; a modal after adding to basket or a post-purchase upsell, were deprioritised, either due to being disruptive or arriving too late in the journey.
User Flow & Interaction
My analysis placed the widget during configuration. Once the customer entered their postcode and chose a cover type, the insurance quote would be added to their basket at £0.00. This approach mirrored other industries (e.g. warranty add-ons, finance pre-approvals) and kept the purchase journey clean.
At checkout, the user would confirm their order as usual. After purchase, they would receive a standard confirmation email from the retailer alongside a separate follow-up email from Laka. This email contained a personalised link to finalise their cover.
This structure offered several advantages:
The customer could explore insurance with no commitment or disruption.
Retailers avoided unexpected costs appearing at checkout, reducing abandonment.
Laka gained valuable visibility earlier in the journey and a meaningful post-purchase re-engagement point.
Designing the Widget
With placement defined, I turned to the design itself. The key challenge was fitting a persuasive insurance offer into the limited space of a widget.
The widget needed to deliver four things clearly and simply:
Plan options - A toggle between Laka’s Core and Complete cover, allowing users to compare headline benefits at a glance.
Price transparency - A clear monthly estimate (e.g. “From £5.20/month”), dynamically updated with postcode input.
Key inclusions - A short list of core features such as theft, damage, and worldwide cover, with the option to learn more if needed.
Clear CTA - A simple button like “Add cover to basket” or “Get covered” to continue.
Where possible, the widget would pre-populate bike details directly from the retailer’s page; model, make, year, and price. Leaving postcode as the only required input. This reduced effort for the customer and made the experience feel tailored to their chosen bike.
Visual Design
Visually, the widget was designed to align with Laka’s bold, rider-focused brand while keeping the layout lightweight and compact. The toggle design allowed for a clean comparison of Core vs Complete without overwhelming users, while colour contrast guided attention to pricing and calls to action.
Trust signals such as star ratings, community stats (“trusted by 40,000+ cyclists”), or limited-time offers were explored as secondary elements to increase credibility and urgency. These were carefully balanced to avoid crowding the small space.
The Outcome
The final concept delivered a widget that felt like a natural extension of the bike-buying journey. By introducing insurance earlier, it improved transparency, reduced potential abandonment, and offered customers a tailored, easy-to-use experience.
For Laka, the widget offered increased brand visibility across partner sites, higher potential sign-ups, and a more seamless way to integrate into the cycling retail ecosystem. For retailers, it provided a value-added service without disrupting their core purchase flow.
Although developed as an interview project, the case study demonstrates my ability to analyse user journeys, balance competing stakeholder needs, and design compact, effective digital experiences that serve both business goals and user outcomes.
