M3 and BrokerTech Ventures participate in TrustLayer 6.6 Million Seed Financing
Next-gen collaborative risk management platform company receives strong backing from the insurance industry to accelerate growth of the industry’s first real-time proof of insurance verification solution.
M3 is participating in a seed round of financing for TrustLayer, to back the collaborative risk management platform’s development of the first real-time proof of insurance verification solution. Abstract Ventures led the investment in the $6.6 million round along with Propel Venture Partners, NFP Ventures, and Precursor Ventures.
Twenty of the top 100 insurance agencies in the U.S., as well as their C-suite executives, also participated in the round. Aside from M3, some of these participating agencies include Holmes Murphy, Heffernan, NFP and Graham Company.
With an abundance of interest, the round was heavily oversubscribed, a reflection of the strength of TrustLayer’s current compliance software and its success in developing a digital proof of insurance solution
BrokerTech Ventures (BTV), a group made up of 13 of the most innovative insurance agencies in the U.S. and 11 top-tier insurance companies, is also a participant in the seed round. This represents BTV’s first investment in a cohort member of their accelerator.
TrustLayer will use the funding to scale operations to meet the demands of its growing customer base. The capital will also support an expansion of sales and marketing efforts, the development of its digital proof of coverage solution with The Institutes RiskStream Collaborative (the largest blockchain insurance consortium in the U.S.), and integrations with many insurance carrier systems of record.
The seed financing comes after an impressive year for TrustLayer that included considerable growth in industries such as construction, property management, sports and hospitality. TrustLayer also developed new commercial relationships with several of the top 100 brokers and carriers in the U.S. Partnerships formed with insurance and risk industry groups and networks such as BrokerTech Ventures (BTV), The Institutes/RiskStream, Beyond Insurance and MarshBerry, are also playing a large role in expansion success. The next phase of growth will involve rapid scaling in new and existing industries as well as progress towards the vision of a real-time proof of insurance solution for businesses of all sizes, across all industries.
“We’re honored to have the support of so many of the top 100 insurance brokers,” said John Fohr, co-founder and CEO of TrustLayer. “Verification of insurance and business credentials is a pain point for millions of businesses and demands a solution that is automated and secure.”
“We continue to be impressed and encouraged by the momentum and industry adoption of the TrustLayer technology and risk management platform,” said Dan Keough, Chairman and CEO of Holmes Murphy and co-CEO of BrokerTech Ventures. “We view TrustLayer’s involvement in our inaugural BrokerTech Ventures Accelerator program as a catalyst for them to become the information clearinghouse for the insurance industry, and we are delighted to be a part of their capital raise and continued success.”
“We are excited to back TrustLayer as they modernize the insurance stack, starting with compliance automation and digital proof of coverage,” said David Mort, partner at Propel Venture Partners. “The customer and investor interest from leading brokerages validates TrustLayer’s approach and we look forward to working with all to transform the way the insurance industry shares information.”
For more information on TrustLayer, visit http://trustlayer.io
About TrustLayer
TrustLayer is a collaborative risk management application that helps reduce friction between businesses. Companies can automate the verification of insurance, licenses, and compliance documents of their business partners (i.e., vendors, subcontractors, suppliers, borrowers, tenants, ridesharing and franchisees).
About BrokerTech Ventures
BrokerTech Ventures (BTV) was founded in 2019 to provide a venue for the best minds in insurance and technology to collaborate and bring to market leading-edge ideas and solutions. BTV is the first broker-led investor group and accelerator program focused on delivering innovation to the insurance agent-brokei industry. BTV invests in the research and testing for each of the chosen startups, provides access to veteran industry mentors, and helps scale the technology to market through broker distribution channels.
The two founding firms of BTV are headquartered in the Midwest: Holmes Murphy, in Des Moines, Iowa, and M3 Insurance, in Madison, Wisconsin. Des Moines ranks as the global hub of insurance, on the coat-tails of Hartford, Conn., and New York City, NY. Learn more at www.brokertechventures.com
About M3
M3 is a top 50 insurance broker and risk management firm in America. We’re leaders in the products we represent and the industries we serve. M3’s people are an extension of your team, providing world-class resources to help you manage risk, purchase insurance, and provide employee benefits. And our focus on community builds better places to live and work.
