Technology
Huckleberry, offering insurance to SMBs, partners with Berkshire Hathaway
Huckleberry, an insurtech company that offers a variety of insurance to small businesses, has announced a partnership with Berkshire Hathaway GUARD. This represents the biggest partnership with a carrier for the startup to date.
The startup, cofounded by Bryan O’Connell, has made some major moves in the past year. The company launched in 2017 offering workers compensation and general liability insurance to small and medium-sized businesses through an online portal, cutting out a lot of the hassle for these businesses as they seek out the right policy.
In the last year, the SF-based company has nearly doubled its geographic footprint and added five new policies to the product suite, including cyber, automotive insurance, umbrella insurance and more.
Moreover, it’s moving to New York and opening up an office in Columbus, Ohio, called HQ2. O’Connell says that the move to New York is all about positioning the startup in the midst of NYC’s burgeoning pool of fintech talent.
With the new partnership and the company’s growth over the past year, it’s bringing on new team members, with plans to get to 100 people by the beginning of 2022. In particular, it’s brought on Bill Kaper as Chief Technology Officer. Kaper hails from Root Insurance, where he served as VP of Engineering and oversaw a team of 200+ engineers. Huckleberry also snagged Braden Davis, formerly of Jetty, as Chief Insurance Officer.
The company raised $18 million in Series A capital back in December of 2019, with investors that include Tribe Capital, with participation from Amaranthine, Crosslink Capital and Uncork Capital.
The momentum from the new hires and partnership with Berkshire Hathaway will allow Huckleberry to move into higher risk insurance categories.
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