Archaic market ripe for change
Parts of the US commercial insurance market are archaic and ripe for technology-driven change, with many players keen to embrace anything that makes their businesses more cost-efficient, Jason Keck, chief executive officer and co-founder of insurtech startup Broker Buddha, told PCI Today.
Broker Buddha has launched a new quoting platform for carriers, wholesalers and managing general agents (MGAs), in partnership with Dallas-based commercial insurance wholesaler Towerstone. It is set to go live in January and Keck said interest in using the platform is strong.
“Everyone is really curious,” he said. “A lot of carriers are seeking innovative solutions to their problems and many see this as a good solution.”
Broker Buddha is targeting carriers that receive submissions via email—as opposed to via a bespoke portal they have developed or an application programming interface. Its platform is designed to replace email communications with an online portal to help underwriters manage, track and prioritise submissions, as well as issue quotes and chat with independent agents about individual submissions in real time.
“Brokers submit quote requests and carriers have the opportunity to respond—but everything is tracked and logged on a real-time chat interface,” Keck said.
“The interest we have seen is equally from carriers and brokers—insurtech is a hot topic and they are very open to this. They like that it does not require any integration to work with their own systems.”
When the platform goes live in January, it will launch with five partners allowing the product to be tested and refined. It will open up to the wider market in April 2019.
Keck said he was drawn to the insurance industry because he wants to bring a consumer-orientated mindset when it comes to customer service, and technology to the B2B sector.
“It is our goal to replace what is an archaic process with modern technology; we will make commercial insurance simple through technology,” he said.
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