Chicago-based insurtech Insureon hopes its upgraded UApp will increase the appetite of small and midsize businesses for commercial insurance.
UApp integrates with more than 30 insurers to automate the process for setting rates and obtaining quotes. Insureon claims the redesigned app reduces the time it takes to complete an insurance application by more than a 50% decrease in time-consuming questions about underwriting and rating.
“In today’s competitive business environment, speed and efficiency are essential for success,” Dan Kazan, CEO of the online insurance marketplace since 2019, said in a news release. “Insureon’s new UApp improves the process for both agents and business owners, saving them a tremendous amount of time and effort, enabling them to better serve their clients while improving the bottom line.”
The app is available to business owners at Insureon.com and to insurance brokerages and agencies on the Insureon Accelerate platform. Earlier this year, Insureon rolled out Insureon Accelerate, a SaaS platform enabling insurance brokers and agents to better tap into the $100 billion market for small and midsize businesses. Through this platform, Insureon licenses its technology to insurance brokerages, agencies and other industry players.
Through its online marketplace, Insureon offers access to coverage such as:
- Workers’ compensation
- General liability
- Commercial auto
- D&O and E&O
- Cyber-liability
Insurers on the Insureon platform — such as Chubb, Hiscox, Liberty Mutual, The Hartford and Travelers — sell commercial policies to an array of small and midsize businesses. Policyholders include auto repair shops, cleaning services, accounting firms, advertising agencies, trucking companies and retail establishments.
In January, Insureon said that in the past 12 months, it had supplied more than 2 million insurance quotes. Insureon’s upgraded app says it will give it an edge in the growing market for small business insurance.
A report by consulting firm McKinsey & Co. described the small business insurance market as “one of the few bright spots” in the U.S. property and casualty insurance sector. McKinsey & Co. expects competition within the small business insurance market to intensify.
“The market is both fragmented and profitable, a scenario that is drawing attention from carriers whose primary business lines are saturated and commoditized, as well as from attackers seeking fields that are open for innovation,” the consulting firm said.
In other insurtech news, HealthCare.com has tapped industry veteran Don Loonam as its new CEO. Loonam most recently was chief operating officer of Bellevue, Washington-based Assurance IQ, an online insurance marketplace for health, Medicare, life and auto coverage. Prudential Financial bought Assurance IQ in 2019 for $3.5 billion. Loonam earlier led sales, marketing and operations for health insurance marketplace AccuQuote.