Esurance Co-Founder and former Senior Executive Chuck Wallace joins Clearsurance Board of Directors
Newburyport-based Clearsurance announced this month that Chuck Wallace has joined the company as an Independent Director effective July 1, 2017. Many in the insurance and insurtech community known Mr. Wallace as one of the Co-Founders of Esurance. Here are some more details from the official announcement:
We are excited to have Chuck join us as he brings a unique skillset to our board,” said Michael Crowe, CEO and Co-Founder, Clearsurance. “Leveraging his experience in technology and insurance is essential as we take our company to the next level. Chuck co-founded one of the early insurtech companies with Esurance,” said Crowe. “He has already provided invaluable insights into the industry and current insurance technology landscape that we seek to transform.”
“We have curated over 36,000 consumer reviews on over 300 U.S. Personal Lines insurance companies in less than three months since launching our first major marketing campaign in April,” said Todd Kozikowski, Co-Founder and Chief Revenue Officer. “Chuck’s guidance on consumer engagement and expansion will be critical to our continued growth. We expect to have over 100,000 consumer reviews and ratings on more than 400 hundred insurance companies by the end of this year.”
“Mike and Todd have put together a great operating team, and Clearsurance has an opportunity to create the most comprehensive, consumer facing rating metric for the insurance industry,” said Chuck. “I’m honored and excited to join the Board and look forward to helping Mike, Todd and the Clearsurance team continue to successfully build the company.”
Chuck, who resides in the San Francisco area, is a board member, advisor, consultant and investor with multiple companies and private equity firms. He focuses in the areas of innovative mobility/next generation transportation, next generation insurance and financial services (InsureTech and FinTech), and the intersection between the three. He has held senior operating roles in leading consumer financial services and technology companies including: Co-founder and senior executive for eight years at Esurance (acquired by Allstate for $1 billion in 2011); Head of Operations at Automatic Labs (connected car platform company acquired by SiriusXM for $120 million in 2017); uSell.com (eCommerce platform company for sale of used mobile consumer electronics), and Ustream.TV (live video broadcast platform company acquired by IBM for $130 million in 2016).
Chuck started his career as an Air Force instructor pilot, first teaching young men and women to fly at undergraduate pilot training in Lubbock Texas, and then flying the C-130 Hercules in Frankfurt Germany and Willow Grove Pennsylvania.
His education includes a BS from the US Air Force Academy, an MBA from the Wharton School, and a JD from the University of Pennsylvania Law School.
Quilt hires a Customer Happiness Hero
On-line insurance platform Quilt has welcomed Chris Harris as its new Customer Happiness Hero. Mr. Harris, who penned a welcome message on the Quilt Insurance website, says that his main goal is to spread the “Quilt Gospel.”
In particular, Mr. Harris writes…
…Having worked with more traditional agencies in the past, I‘ve seen firsthand what happens when an agent puts what’s good for themselves ahead of what’s good for their customers, and how that can hurt a family trying to do the right thing by getting coverage. Most agents have been privy to a nightmare scenario where a person loses almost everything because they were made to believe they had more protection than they really did….
Quilt also allows me to take a more natural approach to talking about insurance. I’m here to make insurance simple, not to sell you anything. That means more people will understand exactly what it is they’re buying, all while completing the entire process online and without even a phone call in most cases. (Who has time for that?)
Integrity and honesty are the cornerstones to a successful business, and the fact that it’s part of the foundation here is why I’m excited to spread the Quilt gospel to anyone and everyone willing to listen. I look forward to speaking with all of you when you visit the site, and I hope you have a better summer than LeBron!
Please continue on to the Quilt website here to read Mr. Harris’ welcome letter in its entirety.
Insurtech IV already taking shape
While we enjoy these summer days, Agency Checklists just thought our readers would like to know that things are already taking shape for the next installment of Insurtech Boston. The Fourth Edition, entitled Episode 4: A New Hope is scheduled for November 9th, at the Seaport’s District Hall.
The Insurtech Insider Panel will feature Heidi Lawson, a partner at Mintz Levin. Mintz Levin is also this Insurtech edition’s Presenting Sponsor. The event will also feature some start-up stories from Mass.-based insurtech companies , Apliant and Veruna who have created products aimed at helping the independent agent.
Stay tuned… or check out the site for yourself at Insurtech Boston IV.
