A simple idea that’s grown into much more

One of the things I love so much about start-ups is the promise of what they can become. You start with a pain point, problem, or passion. But when your new business idea is just a concept on a PowerPoint, you don’t always have a full scope of the impact it will have.

When I started Semsee, it was based on a simple idea—to create an easier way for insurance agents to get quotes from multiple carriers for their small business customers. At that time in 2017, plenty of solutions existed for agents to get quotes for home and auto insurance. But for small businesses, agents still had to type information into individual carrier systems (or portals) and repeat the process for each quote they needed. What’s more, the process did not take advantage of data and technology to help agents optimize for their customers and ultimately themselves. 

In the early days, I met with many agents who were eager to figure out ways to grow their small business customers. But they found it challenging because quoting commercial insurance was cumbersome, making it difficult for them to build enough volume for it to be a profitable business segment.

So we built a simple solution to what is behind-the-scenes a complex problem. On our platform agents can complete a single application and submit to multiple insurance carriers. It returns quotes in minutes (versus hours) and takes advantage of technology like smart forms, APIs and robotic process automation. The bottom line—we took a process that used to take agents hours and reduced it to minutes with a new approach using technology.

And if that was the end of the story—it would be great.  But the really exciting part is that it’s turning out to be much more.

One of those things we’re working on is what happens at the point-of-sale—the moment where the agent presents insurance options to the small business owner. First, we use data to help agents classify their businesses, and then leverage that to help them identify all possible markets. We’ve collaborated with carriers and managing general agents (MGAs) to also bring more information up front, so that agents can better advise business owners on the best options, including how different policies compare, and what’s covered and not covered in easy-to-understand terms.

We’re also turning that on its head by looking at how data can help carriers adjust their offerings to fit market needs and find the kind of businesses they want to write. We’ve discovered a real opportunity for dynamic two-way information-sharing—something that’s valuable for carriers and MGAs, agency networks, and other large agent organizations looking to streamline their process and optimize their relationships with one another. This is just a start, there may be even more opportunities to use technology in these interactions to make them even smarter.

In March, the business crossed several milestones in terms of the number of agents on the platform, how much they’re using it, and also in terms of the number of markets available. We’re thrilled about the impact we’re having based on what we set out to do.

We also know that we’re not stopping there. Many small businesses lack insurance—40% or more have no insurance, and a larger percentage don’t have enough or the right insurance. It’s a huge opportunity for agents, carriers and MGAs. One of the ways to tap into this market is to improve the customer experience at the point of sale. We’re focused on giving agents, carriers and MGAs the tools to make that happen.

There’s nothing like the power of a simple idea that grows into much more. I’m confident that the best is yet to come.