The year 2021 was a banner year for the Boston-based insurtech Openly. The company, which offers a premium homeowners insurance platform for independent agency, expanded into 10 more states this year, including Massachusetts where it officially launched in April.
In particular, the company announced that it logged a 700% growth in in-force premium during the past 12 months, as well as a 250% growth in the number of independent agents selling policies with the company year over year.
“We’ve seen tremendous growth at Openly and attribute this success to every one of our dedicated team members and the support of independent agents,” said Ty Harris, CEO and co-founder of Openly. “Our goal has been to become the nation’s number one home insurance provider leveraging the expertise and guidance of independent agents and our success over the last year demonstrates the power of our approach.”
Openly was founded by Ty Harris and Matt Wielbut in 2018. Trained as an actuary, Mr. Harris spent the first 12 years of his insurance career with Liberty Mutual/Safeco, while Mr. Weilbut spent a decade with Goldman Sachs as a vice president of technology and even started a scratch agency before launching the insurtech.
Employee Headcount Increases 240% to Support Rapid Agent Adoption
In addition to the exponential growth in use of the Openly platform, the company also has expanded its team nationwide, welcoming over 100 employees in 37 states during the course of 2021. In addition to tripling its headcount, it also has rounded out its leadership team, adding a Chief Financial Officer, Chief People Officer, VP of Sales, VP of Marketing, Chief Product & Strategy Officer, VP Product & Design, and VP of Claims. Looking ahead, the company, which has positioned itself as a remote-first company, has “robust hiring plans” for 2022 and expects to add over 100 additional employees this year. I
Plans to continue nationwide expansion
After expanding into ten states this year, including Massachusetts and New Hampshire, the company is now fully operational in a total of 16 states. In 2022, it hopes to double this number, creating a presence in a majority of the country by the end of the year.
“Openly continues to create market-leading technology for the independent agent channel,” said Matt Wielbut, CTO and co-founder of Openly. “Our continued dedication to innovating from both a technology and insurance product perspective is one of Openly’s core strengths and differentiators. Agents routinely mention their love for our offering, which motivates us to continue delivering industry-changing experiences.”
