SynchronoSure, an insurtech focused on underwriting small business insurance in the U.S., has built a business at the convergence of the latest analytics technology and the rise in data usage, coupled with highly experienced underwriting and analytics professionals.
“As a managing underwriter, insurance companies entrust us to make decisions for them because they believe we can do it better,” said Steve Hartman, chairman and CEO. “They rely on our approach, analytics, and control environment to minimize the leakage around planned performance that can occur in our business due to problems with information and a lack of controls and transparency around how decisions are made.”
The business of insurance is an “old” business, Hartman said.
It takes an agent or broker several hours to several days to win an account. After approval from the prospective client, the producer begins putting together the application materials in conjunction with the prospective client, relying on both business records as well as the recollections of the client. Applications are submitted to one or more insurance underwriters, which review the property/casualty and workers compensation applications and supporting information over several hours or a few days before rendering a decision to offer coverage or not—and at what price, Hartman said.
“This reliance upon legacy processes is fraught with inefficiencies and inconsistencies, including inconsistent decisions for the acceptability of policies, the pricing for policies and the coverage afforded under the policies,” he said. “Perhaps worse than the inconsistencies, the time involved for both the end customer and the producer costs them money.”
The company, part of Synchrono Group Inc., offers a proprietary technology platform that uses algorithms to collect known information off the web within seconds of receipt of an electronic application. The data pulled from the web is drawn from credible outside sources including property records, civil litigation, bankruptcy/lien/judgment history, and other sources, Hartman added.
“By pulling data from objective sources, we believe we improve the quality of the underwriting decisions by eliminating the potential for errors in underlying information, and we do so in a fraction of the time for normal application and supporting documentation gathering,” he said.
The algorithms score various risk characteristics within about two seconds, and then SynchronoSure’s pricing tool begins to assign a price point reflective of the overall exposure of the applicant, and position the accounts for a fast turn-around time from the company’s professional underwriters.
“Our process gives time back to the producer and end customer, freeing their resources up to be allocated to other productive activities,” Hartman said.
Ahead
In August 2021, SynchronoSure and Sutton Specialty Insurance Co., a firm that offers underwriting, actuarial, financial, reinsurance and services, expanded an existing partnership to include coverage for excess liability. SynchronoSure, through its proprietary underwriting technology, will underwrite and administer the business on behalf of Sutton Specialty throughout the U.S.
"As a program underwriting carrier that retains risk, we look for smart business partners with which we can build long term value propositions, leveraging the best of what we both can bring to the table, for true value chain differentiation,” Shane Haverstick, CEO of Sutton Specialty Insurance, said in a statement.
Expanding into the excess liability marketplace “is an additional extension of our tech stack and underwriting acumen, leveraging up the investments we have already made in both areas,” Hartman said.
SynchronoSure has three insurance products available now in 48 states, and will be adding new products over the next 60 days, Hartman said.
Current products include GigBOP, a low-end property/casualty product for the gig economy and small business accounts; a trucking general liability product designed to protect the office and garage operations for small trucking companies; and the recently announced excess liability product.
“We believe we are positioned to do business nationally in several product areas that are all geared to meet the insurance needs of agents and brokers who represent small businesses,” Hartman said. “We anticipate continuing to introduce additional property/casualty insurance products including commercial property insurance, commercial general liability insurance, occupational accident insurance, umbrella insurance and professional liability insurance.”
Culture defines SynchronoSure’s success as much as its products and services do, Hartman said.
“Our approach in business is grounded in compassionate capitalism,” he said. “We care about the communities in which we live and work and support various philanthropic initiatives. We encourage our employees to be engaged in local community. And, best of all, we balance this with an unwavering drive to profitably grow our business.”
