Leadership

• Cătălin Chiș — CEO and President of the Board of Directors. He is also a major shareholder and describes himself as a co-founder of LIFE IS HARD, involved with the company since 2008.
  Cătălin Chiș on LinkedIn
• Erik Barna — Founder and former CEO. He founded the original company in 2004 and served as CEO until 2021, subsequently remaining a board member until March 2024. He is no longer part of the company’s executive leadership.
  Erik Barna on LinkedIn

Short Introduction

LIFE IS HARD is a Romanian publicly listed technology company developing software infrastructure and digital solutions for the insurance industry, businesses and public-sector organisations. Its current strategy is centred on building an integrated insurance technology ecosystem around the 24Broker platform.

About the Company

LIFE IS HARD began operating in Cluj in 2004 under the name KL Software and later adopted its current brand following a broader organisational transformation. In 2015, it became the first Romanian software company listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange, according to the company and BVB. Its shares are traded on the AeRO Premium market under the symbol LIH.

The company develops proprietary platforms that digitise insurance distribution, brokerage operations, public administration and healthcare-related workflows. Its best-established product is 24Broker, a software platform used by insurance brokers and agents for activities such as product comparison, quotation and policy issuance, customer and agent management, financial administration and reporting.

LIFE IS HARD is currently concentrating its strategy around insurance technology. The company is expanding beyond individual applications toward a connected infrastructure for insurers, brokers, agents and digital distribution partners. Its insurance ecosystem combines assisted distribution tools, direct digital channels, APIs, operational support and professional training.

At group level, LIFE IS HARD also owns or holds interests in complementary businesses, including enterprise e-commerce developer Innobyte Solutions, business-support provider Performia Finance and technology ventures connected to artificial intelligence and digital insurance distribution. These holdings should be understood as part of the wider LIH Group ecosystem rather than as services necessarily provided directly by LIFE IS HARD S.A.

Products & Services

• 24Broker — insurance brokerage and distribution platform supporting quotations, policy issuance, customer and agent management, CRM, financial administration, renewals and operational reporting.
• 24Consultant and 24BackOffice — assisted-distribution and back-office capabilities for insurance intermediaries.
• Boost24 — digital insurance-distribution platform, natively connected to 24Broker, designed to automate processes such as customer consent, AML-related workflows, policy issuance and renewals.
• Tomorrow Connect — integration and digital-distribution infrastructure providing a unified connection to insurance products, real-time synchronisation and secure data exchange.
• 24MGA — technology platform supporting insurance distribution and market-entry operations for insurers and managing general agents.
• CIA – Core Insurance APIs — API capabilities intended to connect insurance products and digital-distribution channels.
• Insurance Xchange Layer (iXL) — insurance integration infrastructure currently under development; it should not yet be described as a fully deployed commercial product.
• Smart Territory — digital urban-planning and public-administration workflow platform intended to simplify interaction between citizens and local authorities.
• Doxtar — remote medical-evaluation and telemedicine platform.
• Custom software and digital-transformation services — business process automation, system integration and development of industry-specific digital solutions.
• Insurance talent and professional-development initiatives — training and workforce-development programmes delivered through the company’s wider insurance ecosystem.
• Technology investments and group capabilities — enterprise e-commerce through Innobyte Solutions, business support through Performia Finance and selected investments through LIH Ventures.

Licences & Regulatory Status

• Public-company status: LIFE IS HARD S.A. is listed on the Bucharest Stock Exchange’s AeRO Premium market. Its trading symbol is LIH, and its ISIN is ROLIHCACNOR9. Trading began on 8 December 2015.
• Capital-market oversight: As a listed issuer, LIFE IS HARD is subject to the disclosure, reporting and corporate-governance requirements applicable to the AeRO market and to oversight associated with the Bucharest Stock Exchange and Romania’s Financial Supervisory Authority.
• Financial-services licensing: LIFE IS HARD is presented as a technology and software provider, not as an insurance undertaking or insurance intermediary. No official evidence reviewed for this profile indicates that LIFE IS HARD S.A. itself holds an ASF licence to underwrite or distribute insurance. Insurers and brokers using its platforms remain responsible for their own regulatory authorisations and regulated activities.
• Banking or payment-services status: The company is not presented as a bank, payment institution or electronic-money institution and should not be described as holding a National Bank of Romania financial-services licence.
• Management-system certifications: Company reporting materials display certifications for ISO 9001 quality management and ISO/IEC 27001 information-security management. These are operational certifications, not financial-services licences.
• Data and technology compliance: The company remains subject to generally applicable requirements concerning personal-data protection, cybersecurity, intellectual property, electronic contracting and software services. Specific insurance compliance obligations depend on how each authorised insurer or intermediary deploys the technology.

LIFE IS HARD official website · Official products overview · LIFE IS HARD LinkedIn · BVB company page — LIH · H1 2026 company report published through BVB