Embroker is a company that intelligently insures any business. And by pairing technology and broker expertise, Embroker helps growing businesses save time and find the best value on the right coverage. Pulse 2.0 interviewed Embroker CEO Ben Jennings to learn more about the company.
Ben Jennings’ Background
What is Jennings’ background? Jennings said:
“I have more than 25 years of experience in sales, marketing, business development and customer success — not to mention four years at Embroker as Chief Revenue Officer, which has since transitioned into my role as CEO. I’ve helped build several companies, and in that time, I’ve learned from and worked in seemingly every function of a company, from global sales to product and engineering.”
Formation Of Embroker
How did the idea for Embroker come together? Jennings shared:
“Embroker was founded in 2015 when our team witnessed the inefficiencies of the traditional insurance purchasing process for businesses. It causes headaches, wastes time, and most importantly, takes business owners and founders away from what they’d rather be doing. This inspired the minds behind Embroker to make business insurance more efficient by uprooting the centuries-old habits the industry had developed.”
“As CEO, I’m focused on expanding Embroker’s technology, primarily through Embroker ONE, our single application experience that connects vertically specific buyers with tailored insurance programs. My responsibilities within the company fluctuate frequently, but at the end of the day, I’m concentrating on best serving our customers, partners, and my team.”
Core Products
What are the Embroker’s core products and features? Jennings explained:
“We provide a variety of policies and coverage for differing industries such as funded startups, tech companies, law firms, the financial services industry, and more. Our goal is to provide a single destination for vertically specific buyers. Within each vertical, we offer a comprehensive suite of policies that cover the needs of that buyer.”
“Some of our core programs, built on our Embroker ONE platform, include insurance programs for law firms and tech companies, financial services professionals, monoline cyber insurance, commercial crime insurance, and much more.”
“Embroker ONE has come a long way since it launched in January 2023. The platform reviews multiple coverages across a vast network of partners to build tailored insurance programs for customers. We remove any sources of friction we can in this process, such as redundant questions, excessive forms, and having to play phone tag with your broker. In that, we’re bringing customers a single-destination platform for their insurance-buying needs.”
“In its current iteration, Embroker ONE allows us to build out programs for new industries at scale. We’re talking about a new industry every 6-8 weeks in 2024.”
Challenges Faced
What challenges has Jennings faced in building the company? Jennings acknowledged:
“As with many companies in this ever-changing economic environment, the insurance industry is evolving. Factors like rising interest rates, environmental change, and, tangentially, the banking crisis, continually require us to adapt to a new normal.”
“Many investors are critically reviewing where their money is spent, only investing in companies with a customer-oriented value proposition and a strong foundation for scalable growth. Insurance, in general, and insurtechs specifically, are in an excellent position to scale revenue and drive real value for our customers, regardless of challenging economic conditions. At Embroker, we’re committed to providing products for our customers to help them through these tough times.”
“Advanced technologies like AI will continue to challenge the insurance industry’s creativity. Our recent Cyber Risk Index found that 9 in 10 VC-backed founders believe malicious AI threatens their business going forward. We’re always monitoring these emerging technologies to best support our customers and provide them with the up-to-date policies and industry information they need.”
Evolution Of Embroker’s Technology
How has the company’s technology evolved since launching? Jennings noted:
“Our technology has grown significantly since 2015. We were the first company to allow businesses to apply for all types of commercial insurance and manage their policies digitally, and continue to lead as a true technology-forward insurtech.”
“We launched the “Intelligent Startup Package” in 2018, which made us the first company ever to offer a full suite of end-to-end digital specialty insurance products. In 2020 we launched Embroker Access, our portal and management tool for insurance brokers, and, in early 2023, we launched our universal application that utilizes AI and ML: Embroker ONE. Since then, we have evolved the platform, building multiple insurance programs and expanding our policy library.”
“That being said, our tech is created with a growth mindset, recognizing that insurance must be adaptive and innovative. As I mentioned, new technologies are radically changing the insurtech landscape. It’s important to us, and ultimately to our customers, that we not only identify the potential risks of these technologies but also use them to continue building and improving our products and services.”
Significant Milestones
What have been some of the company’s most significant milestones? Jennings cited:
“One of our most recent milestones was the launch of the Embroker ONE platform. We are continuing to expand on ONE with each of the products we release, to make the insurance purchasing process easier for all business owners.”
“Over the past 18 months, we have filled out our C-suite with strategic hires. We brought on Chris Spagnuolo as our Chief Product Officer in March 2023 to help us further our product roadmap and vision, and this past September, we announced Gene Linetsky as our new Chief Technology Officer to help drive our digital platform forward.”
“We’re always proud to share our Net Promoter Score (NPS) of 70+, as Embroker is one of the highest-rated business insurance companies in the market, proving our capability and reliability to demonstrate our value to our customers.”
Differentiation From The Competition
What differentiates Embroker from its competition? Jennings affirmed:
“We are constantly evolving our technologies to deliver the best products to our customers in the best ways. As I mentioned before, we are the first company that empowers businesses to apply for all types of commercial insurance online. Our world-class buying experience is low friction and educates the buyer while avoiding the complexity of traditional insurance.”
“Our fully digital programs have made getting professional liability insurance for bookkeepers easier than ever before, resulting in fewer questions and faster coverage. With Embroker ONE, we provide a single destination for our customers to get the policies they need, tailored specifically to their unique business and industry risks.”
“Overall, we’re focused on providing a seamless and up-to-date insurance buying experience. Our insurance solutions are built in collaboration with insurance industry experts, and driven by feedback from real businesses — we make sure our programs are people-powered.”
2023 Cyber Risk Index
Can you tell us about the 2023 Cyber Risk Index?
“We recently published this year’s edition of Embroker’s Cyber Risk Index. We surveyed VC-backed startup founders to uncover their opinions on cybersecurity and what influences their decisions when choosing cyber coverage for their businesses.”
“We found major shifts in cyber coverage trends in the past year. Founders are discussing cyber insurance more than ever: 83% report talking to their investors and boards about cyber protection often or always — a 42% increase from last year.”
“Additionally, founder confidence in risk coverage has increased 25% from last year, with 55% of founders believing that their policies would cover them in the event of a breach. Founders are placing their trust in their coverage, making cyber insurance a necessity for many — 39% of founders say cyber protection is a non-negotiable investment area for them.”
“Aside from mother nature, cybersecurity is the leading risk concern for founders. However, despite an increase in cyber attacks, founders are confident in their protection; nearly half believe they are unlikely to encounter one themselves going forward.”
“This confidence is likely due to a lack of experience. More seasoned founders seem to take more precautions against cyber threats. From our data, we found that 72% of founders Series C or further reported feeling it’s somewhat or extremely likely they will experience a cyber attack in the future, compared to just 40% of seed or pre-seed and 56% of Series A/B founders who say the same.”
“On the other hand, we’re seeing boards and investors investing in cybersecurity protections, implying that cyber insurance is no longer considered optional; 90% of founders report having cyber insurance in place to protect from cyber attack damages. Investors are taking cyber threats seriously by deploying measures to protect their investments.”
Growth Of AI
How are founders feeling about the boost in AI? Jennings pointed out:
“Generally speaking, founders are embracing the inevitability of AI becoming commonplace. However, they are cautiously balancing the benefits with potential risks that come as a result of its use.”
“There seem to be mixed feelings surrounding the topic of AI, especially as it pertains to malicious AI and how it may impact their business. It’s a relatively new technology, but it is already very accessible and prevalent. Despite 90% of founders believing malicious AI will impact their business’ cybersecurity going forward, 76% of founders with coverage in place still believe that in the event of a malicious AI attack, they’re covered.”
Future Company Goals
What are some of the company’s future company goals? Jennings concluded:
“At the highest level, our goal is to provide ever-increasing levels of customer value. We will do that through a combination of a world-class buying experience, tailored recommendations, and industry-best products.”
“Additionally, we aim to provide our customers with the best product and service possible. Our team wants to make it as easy as possible for customers to purchase the right coverage for them. We are constantly adding to our network of providers, evolving and reviewing who we partner with to ensure we’re meeting our customers’ ever-changing needs and risks. We also want to serve our customers as a single destination, providing a bespoke, tailored quote that properly covers their risk profile.”
“Our ultimate goal is to provide a completely digital insurance-buying experience. It’s that simple. We are bringing consultation and strategy, and leaving bias and variability behind. This is the new age of commercial insurance.”
