A Minneapolis-based startup that provides embedded insurance to industry-specific, software-as-a-service companies recently received $4 million in seed funding.
Vertical Insure Inc. announced this week the funding round, co-led by Minneapolis- and Menlo Park, Calif.-based Rally Ventures and Omaha, Neb.-based Dundee VC, according to a press release. The company will use the funds to conduct hiring as it scales its go-to-market strategy, Brock Noland, co-founder and CEO of Vertical Insure, said in an interview.
Vertical Insure embeds the sale of insurance into industry-specific — otherwise known as vertical — software-as-a-service platforms. The company focuses on industries like sports, camps and recreation, as well as collectibles, Noland said.
Instead of a platform’s customer needing to go to a third-party for insurance, platforms that are using Vertical Insure would be able to embed insurance into the workflow, Noland explained. Examples of insurance options include event cancelation insurance or shipping protection.
“Vertical SaaS platforms are ideally positioned to offer right-sized coverage. Leveraging their relationships, they can collapse applications down to a single checkbox at checkout and earn revenue for enabling ease of purchase," the CEO said in a statement.
The company is currently in the process of securing a handful of implementations with companies, Noland said.
A prominent venture capital firm in the Twin Cities, Rally has an investment portfolio that, in addition to Vertical Insure, includes other local companies that also are enabling expanded services for software-as-a-service platforms. Those companies include JustiFi, an embedded fintech platform, and Yardstik Inc., a security and screening startup. Justin Kaufenberg, managing director at Rally and co-founder and former CEO of SportsEngine Inc., is on Vertical Insure’s board, a Rally spokesperson said.
Vertical Insure currently has five full-time employees, all of whom are based in Minnesota, Noland said. The company will use the funding to conduct additional hires in sales, marketing, software development and insurance product management.
Looking ahead, the company is also looking into serving additional industries, like property management, education and associations, Noland added.
