SAN FRANCISCO – Bunker, a San Francisco-based digital business insurance platform, announced May 11 its public launch and that it has closed $6M in Series A funding. This follows less than a year after announcing their $2M seed round and launching in beta.
This round was led by Omidyar Network, a leading venture capital firm that invests in mission-oriented companies. Other new and previous investors – including Comcast Ventures and Route 66 Ventures – also participated in the round. Rob Veres from Omidyar Network has joined Bunker’s board of directors.
Bunker’s unique contract-related insurance marketplace identifies small business insurance buyers before they search or click on a social media ad, delivering the exact policies at the moment they’re needed. It is this approach of embedding insurance into business relationships that led Omidyar Network to see the value of Bunker in driving insurance innovation for small businesses and the Future of Work, with the pace and scale the world needs today.
“With the continued rise of the gig economy and the sheer speed of business relationships, we need more flexible insurance products delivered in the simplest and quickest way. Bunker is changing the point-of-sale for small business insurance, and we’re pleased to be backing them,” said Rob Veres, venture partner at Omidyar Network.
Bunker’s free digital platform makes life easier for enterprises, suppliers and independent contractors. “One of the biggest insurance challenges that businesses face is figuring out how to comply with and track requirements for all the contracts they enter into – leases, service agreements, IC engagements, loan covenants, etc.,” said Chad Nitschke, CEO of Bunker. “Neither the insurance nor legal industries are easy to tackle, and when you combine them it’s near impossible. That’s why Bunker is here, embedding insurance into the process, making compliance simple for everyone involved.”
Nitschke told Insurance Forums Bunker has “a few exciting things from a new insurance product perspective in the pipeline” that they’re not quite ready to take the wrapper off yet. “One feature however that we are public about (and has seen quite a bit of interest) is using our proprietary data set to help organizations set more effective insurance requirements. This means using a data-driven approach to correlating requirements and the actual risk; i.e. not requiring an IC working on a small project to carry the same level as a company working on a large project. We are building additional tools around this given the interest; today it’s a real pain point for everyone involved.”
After launching in beta last October, the company has received universally positive feedback from customers. “Bunker has created a refreshing new approach to insurance, combining a purpose-built technology solution with outstanding service and expertise for the micro business and independent contractor,” said Gene Zaino, President & CEO at MBO Partners. “MBO Partners looks forward to partnering with Chad’s team to deliver innovative insurance solutions to the growing independent professional workforce.”
“We’re thrilled to take on this next phase of growth with our clients, like MBO Partners, and new investors, led by Omidyar Network. With Rob joining our board, his prior experience scaling platforms at successful technology companies, such as eBay and Clover, will be extremely valuable for our next phase of rapid growth,” Nitschke said.
About Bunker: Bunker Technologies, Inc., headquartered in San Francisco with a second office in Madison, Wisc., was founded in 2015 to deliver an entirely new small business insurance buying experience. Through its wholly owned subsidiary Bunker Protect, Inc., they are a licensed insurance broker in all 50 states, in addition to working with leading insurance carriers in building new and unique products. By developing the first ever contract-related insurance marketplace, Bunker delivers the exact business insurance policies at the moment they’re needed. For more information visit http://www.buildbunker.com
