API vs Web Portal: Which Is Right for Your Freight Business?

If you’re a freight forwarder, software platform, or logistics provider exploring how to offer cargo insurance, you’ll quickly find yourself facing a decision: do you integrate via API or use a ready-to-go web portal?

It’s not a question of which one is better, it’s a question of fit. Both routes have distinct advantages, but understanding when and why to choose each option is critical to getting insurance live, adopted, and delivering value fast.

This article is your guide to that decision, based on real-world partner feedback, platform behaviours, and adoption patterns we’ve seen first-hand.

API Integration: Deep, Seamless, and Powerful

Integrating via API means embedding cargo insurance directly into your software. This could be a TMS, freight marketplace, rate management platform, or any tool where shipment booking takes place. The API passes shipment data from your platform to Breeze, retrieves an instant quote, and binds the policy with a single user action, all without the user leaving your interface.

For product teams, this is the gold standard. It means:

• Fewer clicks: No redirection to third-party tools
• Faster workflows: Policies are quoted and bound alongside the booking
• Better adoption: Insurance feels like part of the product, not an extra
• Custom control: You manage the UI, timing, and logic around when and how cover is offered

If your platform already handles booking, quoting, or invoicing, the API route makes cargo cover feel like a native feature. Users don’t need to think about insurance, they just see the option, toggle it on, and move forward. That’s the kind of UX that drives consistent adoption.

Web Portal Access: Fast, Flexible, and Ready to Go

Not every team has engineering resources available. Not every use case demands a full integration. That’s why we built our standalone web portal, a fully functional, browser-based platform where users can:

• Quote and bind cover
• Manage policies and documents
• Track and submit claims
• Review shipment history
• Invite team members and manage roles

It’s perfect for smaller forwarders, new partnerships, or operational teams who need to get started quickly. There’s no dev work required, no onboarding barrier, and no delay — just an account login and instant access to everything you need.

For some teams, the portal is a permanent solution. For others, it’s a great way to test usage, build the internal case for integration, and scale into a full API setup later.

Choosing the Right Path

So, which option is right for you? It depends on your goals, your users, and your resourcing.

You’re probably best suited for the API route if:

• You own or operate a booking flow or TMS
• You want to monetise insurance natively within your platform
• You prioritise UX and want cover to feel invisible
• You have product or engineering bandwidth available

You’re better suited for the portal if:

• You need to get live instantly
• You have ops teams handling bookings manually
• You want to test demand before investing in integration
• You’re onboarding clients who need access before your dev team is free

Other Considerations: Revenue, Risk, and Reporting

The choice of API vs portal isn’t just technical - it affects how you earn revenue and manage risk.

• Revenue-share and markup models work across both paths, but APIs allow more flexibility around margin control, reporting granularity, and dashboard visibility
• Claims handling remains fully managed by Breeze, regardless of how policies are issued — so your teams stay focused on freight, not paperwork
• Compliance is covered by us too. You don’t need a licence to sell insurance. You just need a way to offer it

Whether you plug into Breeze directly or access us via the portal, the outcome is the same: better cover, better customer service, and better margins per shipment.

Final Word: Meet Users Where They Are

There’s no single “right” answer here, only the approach that makes sense for how your teams and your customers work.

In some cases, that’s a lightweight portal login. In others, it’s a deeply embedded API call triggered during quote confirmation. 

The key is simplicity. Choose the route that removes friction. Because when insurance is easy to access, understand, and act on, it goes from a chore to a value driver, and that’s when your users really start to care.