The Boston-based insurtech’s website has been down for weeks
It appears that a once promising Boston-based insurtech start-up may have quietly closed down. First reported on the insurtech-focused blog, Coverager, Agency Checklists confirmed that the website was down after checking it on multiple browsers. Here is what the Surround Insurance website currently looks like:
While the website is not functional, it should be noted that the company’s social media profiles appear to be still active. However, Agency Checklists tried to contact the company on two of the numbers it has listed on Yelp and Mapquest to no avail.
Launched in 2018
Founded in Cambridge by Jonathon Grayson and Kate Terry, Surround Insurance was created to respond to the needs of young, modern consumers who were shifting from owned assets to share access assets, particularly young urban professionals. Surround Insurance looked to meet this generation by reinventing age-old insurance products to serve these new consumers.
As stated on the company’s Linkedin page, “We’re angel- and venture-backed by insurance and technology veterans who share our vision for a whole new world of customer-centric, technology-enabled insurance.”
Incubated at the Harvard Innovation Labs via the Launch Lab X program, the insurtech got off to a fast start. In 2019, it was recognized as a MassChallenge FinTech 2019 Platinum Award Winner as well as a Plug and Play #1 Scored Pitch in the 2019 Batch.
In Massachusetts, the company officially launched via Agency Checklists with a detailed and informative interview with the company founders. At the six-month mark in 2021, co-founder Kate Terry gave our readers an insightful update on the progress the company was making.
By the start of 2024, the company had raised $5.1 million. In its most recent funding round of November 2022, it raised $2.5 million from investors including the MM Catalyst Fund and Aperture.
Shakeup in 2023
In late 2023, however, the company announced the surprise departure of co-founder Jonathon Grayson. In a message posted on LinkedIn, remaining co-founder Kate Terry wished her co-founder well and opined optimistically about the continued future of Surround Insurance.
No Signs of Trouble in 2024
As 2024 progressed, it appeared Surround Insurance was continuing to grow. The company filed a statement with the Secretary of State in January of this year and has not filed any Articles of Dissolution as of yet.
And while it did not announce any further funding rounds, just eight months ago it announced a new partnership with Fisecal. Moreover, at Insurtech Boston 2024, CEO Terry appeared on an episode of The Insurance Technology Podcast.
But by November of this year, however, it appears that the company has closed its doors.
