A young Chicago startup that's bringing tech to legacy insurance companies hasn't had problems raising money on its quest to change the insurance game.
Dais, founded by Jason Kolb, the founding CTO of Chicago startup Uptake, has been quietly building a platform for insurance companies since the startup launched in late 2016. It quickly raised a $5 million seed round in 2016 and this month raised another $9 million of what will be a $17 million round, according to SEC filings. Dais’ backers include EMC Insurance and Jewelers Mutual.
Dais’ platform is helping insurance carriers and agencies with a range of workplace efficiencies, from workflow automation to billing to using data to quantify risk. Dais isn't operating as a digital agency, such as startups like Lemonade, but rather aligning with existing insurance companies to help them use technology to improve their processes.
“Similar to what Salesforce is for sales, we’ve built this for insurance,” Kolb said.
The startup is building what it calls the Internet of Insurance, a “technology framework and alliance of insurance industry leaders.” Kolb believes Dais is on the cutting edge of a revolution in the insurance space by bringing technology to an industry that badly needs it.
“What attracted me to insurance was the fact that it was so antiquated,” Kolb said. “Very, very big companies make a lot of money in this industry and there’s not a whole lot of drive to change and disrupt. Therefore, the industry hasn’t really moved in 30 years.”
Kolb launched Dais after leaving Uptake after more than a year and a half as the startup’s first chief technology officer. He said he saw an opportunity for disruption in the insurance space, where companies have largely been working on legacy systems with little technology innovation. The startup got an early vote of confidence from EMC, which led the Dais' seed round.
“EMC Insurance Companies is proud to have been among the first investors in Dais,” Scott Jean, EMC's EVP Finance & Strategy, said in a statement to Chicago Inno. “Since our initial investment, Dais has built a platform that could be an industry game changer. In recognition of that work and the opportunities ahead, we didn’t hesitate to continue support of the Dais platform with a second investing round.”
Dais has a team of around 100 people, made up of both technology and insurance experts. Aaron Larson, the startup's chief revenue officer, previously worked at EMC and knows firsthand how much is wasted in the insurance industry by not adopting new technologies.
"We’re really creating a true insurance platform, which allows the policy holders to win, the agencies to win, and the carriers to all win concurrently," Larson said. "It's a really big opportunity."
Dais joins a growing group of Chicago startups that are working in and around the insurance industry. Startups like Kin and Clearcover compete with insurance companies by offering customers a digital-first insurance experience, while others like DataCubes and Snapsheet are working with insurance companies to help improve aspects of their businesses.
"A lot of what we’re doing is taking these offline processes, digitizing them, and making them more compelling," Kolb said. "We’re reimagining really what insurance can be."
