(Image source: BrokerTech homepage.)
Holmes Murphy (Waukee. Iowa), one of the nation’s largest employee-owned and controlled brokerages, along with M3 Insurance (Madison, Wisc.), PayneWest Insurance (Missoula, Mont.), ABD Insurance & Financial Services (San Mateo, Calif.), Conner Strong & Buckelew (Camden, N.J.), and Assurance (Schaumburg, Ill.) have partnered to launch BrokerTech Ventures (Des Moines), the first program specifically for investors and innovators dedicated to building the next generation of technology solutions for insurance agencies and brokerages.
Dan Keough, Chairman and CEO, Holmes Murphy.
“There is an ongoing need for technology solutions specific to agents and brokers, and we’re proud to be at the forefront of this cutting-edge initiative,” comments Dan Keough, Chairman and CEO, Holmes Murphy. “BrokerTech Ventures will alleviate some of these pain points by creating an ‘innovation hub’ for startups to test broker-centric ideas and products, while bringing new and innovative ideas and solutions to our customers.”
BrokerTech Ventures reports that it will deploy a “highly intentional” accelerator curriculum, as well as a veteran mentoring network, seed funding for a portion of the chosen startups’ research and testing, and a distribution platform to deploy the technologies. The window for startup companies to apply for a spot in the first BrokerTech Ventures cohort will open in late October of this year, with program launch planned for February 2020.
Opportunity to Shape
Mike Victorson, President and CEO, M3 Insurance.
“The idea behind the alignment of BrokerTech Ventures as both an accelerator and an investment vehicle is that we, and our agency partners, have an opportunity to shape a product or solution alongside the startup,” comments Mike Victorson, President and CEO, M3 Insurance, and BrokerTech Ventures co-founder alongside Holmes Murphy. “We intend on being active participants in the insurance technology space and offering a testing ground to benefit our customers.”
In further building the resources available through BrokerTech Ventures, the owner agencies plan to partner with additional privately held, like-minded, and geographically diverse insurance agencies and brokerages, according to a BrokerTech statement. A targeted, executive search is in progress for the organization’s first managing director, and Brian Hemesath, former managing director of the Global Insurance Accelerator (GIA) and a noted InsurTech leader, will provide guidance and counseling on the initiative as the architecture and curriculum for BrokerTech Ventures are built.
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