The Engineering Working Student Who Fixed a Founding Problem

When I joined Insify as a part-time engineer, I didn’t think my first project would be so directly tied to why the company exists.

Eight months ago, I was still splitting my time between university and work. I had 16 hours a week to contribute, and I wanted to make them count. During our team’s quarterly planning, I spotted a ticket buried in the backlog: "Automate address checks for customers." It sounded small, but something about it felt important. So I asked, "Can I take this one?"

I had no idea how close this problem was to the company’s founding story.

Years ago, our founder Koen filed an insurance claim for stolen laptops. It was denied because he forgot to update his address. That moment stuck with him. It planted the seed for a new kind of insurance company—one that doesn’t punish customers for small mistakes, but builds smarter systems to protect them.

That’s exactly what I got to do.

A Problem Buried in the Backlog

When customers change their business address and forget to tell us, it creates risk. If they file a claim from the wrong location, they might not be covered. It’s not because we want to deny claims—it’s because insurance regulation ties coverage to the registered address. But we believed there had to be a better way.

Before this project, we relied on customers to update their address manually. The only other option was for our customer support team to check cases one by one.

Now, the system checks every single customer’s registered address against the official Dutch business registry (KVK) once a month. If there’s a mismatch, we automatically reach out and prompt them to update it. It’s recurring, reliable, and proactive. No more "Oops, I forgot."

Sixteen Hours a Week to Make an Impact

Over the course of three months, I developed a serverless automation using AWS Lambda and EventBridge, supported by my team lead on planning and key technical and architectural decisions. That meant building the core logic, scheduling checks, and setting up alerts—while also juggling part-time studies.

Working 16 hours a week, I had to structure everything in small, shippable chunks. I planned around my study schedule and designed the work so I could pause and resume without losing momentum. That meant visible progress each week, even if it was just a little.

The tech side wasn’t the hard part. What mattered more was understanding the customer impact, testing carefully, and making sure our legal and ops teams were looped in. I kept in sync with my team through daily check-ins and always felt like I could reach out for help. Even though I was leading the project, I never felt like I was doing it alone.

To give a better picture of how it all fits together, here’s a diagram of the monthly check process. The system runs automatically, checking policies against the KVK, flagging mismatches, and following up with customers until their details are up to date.

Shipping the First "Pioneer Team" Project

When the Pioneer Team was formed, its goal was clear: go beyond day-to-day fixes and invest in long-term improvements to the user experience. This project—automating address checks—was the first one we shipped.

It had been discussed in earlier planning cycles but never prioritised, given more urgent needs during our early growth. But the idea stayed top of mind because of its potential to reduce friction and build trust with our customers.

Once live, it sparked a wave of engagement. Some users were surprised we could even check this automatically. Others appreciated the reminder and updated their address on the spot. Of course, there were a few bugs (there always are), but we resolved them quickly and kept iterating.

The best part? Every month, the system now proactively prompts users to keep their details up to date—making it easier for them to stay covered and avoid surprises. That feels meaningful.

To Other Working Students: It's Worth It

Being a student engineer isn’t always easy—there’s a lot to juggle between university and work. But at Insify, student engineers are given real ownership. Projects aren’t side quests; they matter. They ship. And they teach a lot, fast.

This project was built entirely in a new tech stack, with plenty of unknowns along the way. But asking questions was always encouraged, support was always available, and learning was part of the process. Even with limited weekly hours, it was possible to structure the work into clear, shippable steps and see progress week by week.

What started as a small backlog ticket ended up touching one of the most critical parts of the user experience—and connecting directly to the reason Insify was founded in the first place.

And while the work was impactful, the culture made it enjoyable. From casual lunches and Friday drinks to quarterly off-sites, there’s always space to recharge and connect.

There’s still so much more to explore—but this was a strong start.

If you’re a student or experienced engineer who wants to work on meaningful challenges (not just mock projects), Insify is a great place to start. We’re hiring.