Boost Insurance today announced a $3 million funding round led by Norwest Venture Partners with participation from IA Capital Group, Greycroft Partners, and re/insurance industry leaders State National Companies (NASDAQ: SNC) and Nephila. Boost is focused on scaling a unique development platform that streamlines the go-to-market process for insurtech startups and innovative insurance products.

"Insurance is a unique and highly-regulated industry which requires cooperation between startups and regulated insurance companies," said Jared Hyatt, Principal at Norwest Venture Partners. "Boost serves as a conduit between insurtech startups and insurance capital, but is also a buffer from a technology and cultural perspective. The Boost Insurtech Platform eliminates the need for technology startups to integrate and conform to archaic systems while also allowing them to control the entire customer and brand experience."

Boost's founder and CEO Alex Maffeo -- who previously led insurtech investing at VC firm IA Capital Group -- formed and incubated the company at IA Capital after identifying the go-to-market timeline as the most critical issue faced by insurtech entrepreneurs today.

"There are many resources for educating entrepreneurs and assisting with the development of business models, however there is no insurance industry nexus that provides all of the tools and services for launching a startup in the insurance space," said Alex Maffeo, founder and CEO, Boost Insurance. "Traditional insurance carriers provide the valuable expertise to help entrepreneurs avoid common industry pitfalls, but often cannot meet the fast-paced demands of a startup and lack the technology to integrate efficiently. Boost offers the best of both worlds: technology and startup sector expertise, as well as the highest-quality re/insurance partners."

Introducing the Boost Insurtech Platform

Boost will focus on distribution and product-focused insurtech startups seeking to disrupt the $600 billion property and casualty insurance market. The platform will offer streamlined access to regulated insurance paper and risk capacity through its partnerships with State National, Nephila, and other leaders in the re/insurance industry. Boost will also guide entrepreneurs through the complex product development and regulatory processes and provide access to the Boost Insurtech Platform -- a flexible, API-driven platform that provides modern insurance data exchange for insurtech startups.

"Boost empowers insurtech startups to enhance their speed to market with a tailored approach and technological capability that is not readily available in the traditional insurance marketplace," said Luke Ledbetter, EVP & CUO - Program Services, State National. "Our partnership with Boost is an opportunity to drive increasing industry innovation while leveraging our unique skills and experience to support the growth of this dynamic segment of the insurance marketplace."

Boost will work with a select group of insurtech startups planning to launch new distribution platforms or innovative insurance products and will begin rolling out new insurtech programs in early 2018. Boost can support both pre-launch startups seeking to go live or in-market startups seeking to roll out new products or expand into new markets.

"Insurtech startups bring a welcome injection of new ideas and energy to the re/insurance market, but putting systems, paper, and risk capacity into place to make the ideas a reality has been a challenge, said Barney Schauble, Managing Partner, Nephila. "We have been deeply involved in several such projects over the past decade, and are investing in and partnering with Boost because we are certain that they will provide real value to startups in getting to market swiftly and smoothly."

The company is also expanding the Boost Trusted Partner Network which serves as a central location for paper, capacity, and service providers in the insurance industry seeking to capitalize on the growing insurtech movement. Boost encourages companies in claims, underwriting, data analytics, actuarial, and other insurance services to reach out to join the network.

Boost will present at the InsureTech Connect conference in Las Vegas on the "So You Want to Be an Insur(e)Tech" panel. The panel will take place on Wednesday, October 4th at 3:00pm PST and will include perspectives from State National, Nephila, and others in the insurance industry.

About Boost Insurance
Boost Insurance USA, Inc. is an independent, technology-enabled insurance platform built to enable emerging insurtech startups that are taking innovative approaches to insurance products, distribution, data analytics, underwriting, and claims. Boost is led by a team of experienced venture capital & technology-focused professionals coupled with experienced insurance partners. This pairing enables Boost to steer entrepreneurs through the complex landscape that is insurance enterprise formation while facilitating innovation and go-to-market acceleration.