Seeking to escape the “shackles of legacy technology,” nine insurance industry veterans sought to create a more transparent insurance company. The result was Bamboo Insurance, which launched in June 2018.
Dealing with legacy technology was "like a freight train, that, instead of just being able to go off the track and go in a different direction, you actually just end up adding a new car onto the freight train, and it just gets longer and longer and longer,” says Libbie Bock, Senior Vice President, Operations and Underwriting and Head of Bamboo Agency.
Bamboo Insurance started as a Managing General Underwriter company with Axa and Sutton National as backers. For most of the last three years since they began, they have focused on home insurance.
After three years, Bamboo insurance has $50 million in written premium and about 50,000 customers through its personal home insurance in California. And, after its recent acquisition of First American Property and Casualty Insurance Agency, Bamboo will be able to operate in every state, other than Alaska and Hawaii, with commercial insurance and personal lines for auto, renters, condo and pet insurance. The company now has $75 million in premium with 70 employees.
“Our mantra, you know, in the early days was break even first brag later,” said Bock. “And that's different than some of the other insurtechs. This really gives us a national platform and a brand to build upon.”
The company believes its transparency sets them apart from the traditional insurance company, as well. Many homeowners believe they are covered when a pipe in their home breaks-- and as long as that pipe is in their house, they are. But, many homeowners can be surprised with a $13,000 bill if the pipe ran under their home and attached to the city line.
“You can buy a very, very low fee endorsement that will protect you from that,” said Bock. “But most people just don't know that. So we're trying to be very transparent because we don't want to have unhappy people on the back end finding that they're not covered.”
