Huckleberry Raises $18M To Expand SMB Insurance Offerings

Insurance purchasing and management platform Huckleberry has raised $18 million in a Series A funding round led by Tribe Capital, with participation from Amaranthine, Crosslink Capital and Uncork Capital, Huckleberry announced in a press release on Wednesday (Dec. 18).

Huckleberry offers a digital insurance platform for small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) that is 100 percent paperless. Small business owners can get a price quote in less than five minutes for coverage for workers’ compensation, general liability and more.

The new funds will be used to expand Huckleberry’s insurance products across sectors like personal care, auto repair, restaurants and more. The money will also help the company scale its engineering, data science and marketing efforts.

“Huckleberry was born due to the painful process I encountered when purchasing business insurance at a prior startup,” said Bryan O’Connell, founder and CEO of Huckleberry. “Having worked at an insurance carrier, I knew that it was possible to build a platform that eliminates tedious offline paperwork and puts the small business owner first.”

The Silicon Valley startup, which was launched in 2017, uses public and private data sources to assess small businesses. Key verticals include landscaping, janitorial, food, medical, dental and retail. In addition to workers’ compensation, liability, property and business interruption insurance, optional add-ons include auto insurance, employment practices liability insurance (EPLI), liquor liability insurance, employee dishonesty coverage and more.

“Huckleberry reduces the amount of friction it takes for you to feel secure as a business owner,” said Arjun Sethi, co-founder and partner at Tribe Capital. “Every business needs insurance. It provides a safety net for more people to start businesses and take on entrepreneurial risk.”

The global insurance technology (InsurTech) market is slated to become a $1.1 billion industry by 2023, analysts have predicted, with growing analytics and artificial intelligence (AI) functionality accelerating innovation in the insurance market.

Corporate customers are a driving force behind the InsurTech industry’s growth, with protection against cyberattack losses a popular target among InsurTech innovators and businesses alike.