With so many fascinating people in the insurtech space, Coterie Insurance is setting out to go behind the tech and interview leaders in the industry, one by one. We’re kicking off our new series starting with Adam Kiefer, CEO of Talage, one of Coterie’s amazing partners that is also focused on creating innovative commercial insurance solutions.
How did you get started in insurance?
I played college football at the University of Nevada and after graduation, when the NFL didn’t call my name in the draft, I got connected to Nick Rossi of Luccini/Parish Insurance in Reno, Nevada who took a chance on me and helped me get started in the industry.
What is Talage’s mission and who do you serve?
Talage’s mission, at a very high level, has always been to make it easier to sell insurance. My time as an agent and working for a carrier made it very clear to me that there was a big gap in how carriers, agents/brokers, and policyholders saw small commercials. Talage is at the forefront of bridging those gaps, but instead of working to make it easier to buy insurance as some early insurtechs did, we choose to approach it from the other side. We believe that if the process of selling is better, the experience of buying would just naturally improve.
What are the different products you offer and how have you continued to expand product offerings over the years?
From a line of coverage standpoint, we have five products on the platform. Workers’ Compensation, General Liability, Business Owners’ Policies, Miscellaneous Professional Liability, and Cyber Liability. We originally launched as a Workers’ Compensation platform, but we wanted to build a portfolio of core lines important to business owners across the country. We are always evaluating new products and partners to better serve the agents and brokers on our platform.
Can you tell us what it was like to partner with Coterie to expand commercial insurance solutions and why you chose Coterie?
We evaluate every partner before putting them on the platform based on a list of factors. The two most important factors to us are the potential of the partner on the platform and the quality and ease of the actual integration.
Coterie has a great appetite with multiple coverage lines and a strong position in the market in terms of pricing and agent/policyholder service. From a technical standpoint, Coterie leads the pack with the ease and usability of their integration, we and our agents have been very impressed and Coterie was an obvious partner for us right away.
In what ways has Coterie helped your business?
Coterie has been a great partner for us as we work with agents and brokers. From their perspective, it’s all about how competitive a player is in the market, and Coterie gets that done for us. The fact that they have built their platform in a forward-thinking, digitally native way, that’s a bonus. It’s also been great to be a part of new product launches as Coterie continues to look forward to what’s next.
Looking ahead, what new features is your team tackling now?
For us, it’s all about integrations. The Talage platform was built from the ground up to be the most flexible digital distribution platform in the market, so we are headed where the submissions are and are partnering with established players as well as new entrants to the Insurtech Universe.
For innovators out there who are building and scaling, what advice would you give them?
Build fast but be patient. Insurance is a big, old industry heavily grounded in tradition and regulation. There is a ton of opportunity in this space, but it’s important to realize that things move at a more deliberate pace here. You’ve got to be in this for the long haul.
Thank you, Adam, and the entire team at one of the best business insurance companies, our partner Talage!
