1Fort, an AI platform for business insurance, has raised $7.5 million in an oversubscribed funding round led by Bonfire Ventures. The round also included Draper Associates (Tim Draper); Karim Atiyeh, the founder of Ramp; and participation from all existing VCs: Village Global, Operator Partners, 8-Bit Capital, Character VC and Company Ventures. This latest round brings the 1Fort total funding to $10 million.
Insurance brokers and agents face manual, time-consuming processes when serving businesses. Yet 70% of businesses still rely on them for coverage, according to the Hiscox. Despite this reliance, 75% remain underinsured, leaving nearly 24 million businesses exposed as risks grow in severity and frequency with advancing technologies, such as cyber attacks and supply chain disruptions.
1Fort solves these challenges by empowering brokers to bind more top-tier insurance policies for businesses faster using AI. The platform leverages AI to automate various broker workflows, including autofilling insurance applications, retrieving quotes from carriers, comparing coverage, and integrating payment and financing options.
The company claims brokers who use 1Fort save up to two hours per submission and increase their bind rate by up to 20%. Brokers can also access 1Fort’s complementary risk management software, which businesses manage their policies and proactively prevent claims or losses.
1Fort has partnered with more than a dozen leading brokerages and A-rated carriers, including Arch, Tokio Marine HCC and Markel. The funding will allow 1Fort to improve the broker experience through AI innovations and talent acquisition and further expand partnerships with carriers and brokers.
“Our mission is to help every business obtain the financial protection they need to keep up with today’s fast-moving risks, and empowering insurance brokers with AI to automate their antiquated workflows is the way to achieve it,” said Anthony Marshi, 1Fort co-founder and CEO. “This investment will allow us to grow even faster by doubling down on our AI features and strengthening our broker and carrier partnerships. We’re grateful for our investors who share our vision in transforming business insurance.”
“Building AI-powered, service-as-software solutions to modernize legacy workflows in the insurance vertical is one of today’s most exciting opportunities,” said Jim Andelman, Bonfire Ventures co-founder and managing director. “1Fort has already built impressive momentum and is poised to revolutionize this trillion-dollar market.”