Insurtech is creating a SaaS platform to help independent insurance agents acquire, renew and retain customers
Boston-based insurtech Wunderite announced the results of a new seed funding round which saw the company raise approximately $3 million to help develop its SaaS platform for independent agents. The new capital will allow the company to accelerate its product development and double the number of its employees with the end goal of expanding its platform’s distribution to independent agencies across the country.
Led by Spark Capital, the funding round also saw participation from Boston Seed as well as some well-known insurance industry entities including John Wepler from MarshBerry, Scott Addis from Beyond Insurance, Brian Hetherington from The ABD Team, Ty Harris from Openly, Andrew Krantz from York International, Heffernan Insurance Brokers, Trustco Inc, and BrokerTech Ventures.
“The days of selling insurance during a round of golf or over drinks are vanishing,” said Alex Finkelstein, General Partner at Spark Capital. “Buyers want to be efficient with their time and only buy what they need. Wunderite is allowing agents to be more valuable partners to their customers by offering a streamlined, data-driven product that helps them clearly understand what their options are. Wunderite allows them to deliver that in a smart and attractive way for promising ROI.”
Born out of a first-hand knowledge of an independent agency’s pain points
Founded in 2019 by the Massachusetts independent agent Peter MacDonald and Joe Schnare. The two bonded on the first day of business school at Boston College’s Carroll School of Management, after sharing their similar frustrations over antiquated processes each experienced in their family-owned businesses. Mr. MacDonald’s family has owned and operated an independent insurance agency on Cape Cod for over 50 years, while Mr. Schnare, grew up in a family-owned construction business based in Worcester.
This share experienced coupled with their belief in the opportunities the independent agency system holds for companies, resulted in the creation of Wunderite.
“Having worked at my family’s insurance agency, I knew there was an enormous opportunity for agents to natively do business online. I leveraged my agency background and taught myself to code during business school to build a more delightful, efficient way for agents to connect with their customers,” said Peter MacDonald, founder and CEO of Wunderite. “Wunderite shortens the application process, helping agents sell more deals. We are relentlessly focused on improving the customer experience.”
As of today, Wunderite is now an annual subscription-based platform offering independent agents the ability to conduct an intuitive workflow to help them better serve their insureds as they purchase or renew Property & Casualty insurance. According to the company, their proprietary software “…captures and centralizes customer data to streamline the process of filling out insurance applications.” The Wunderite platform can be accessed at any time on both desktop and mobile devices.
