sam-at-vouch

5 ms·

1. 1.▲
   Founders: you can predict dilution with Carta's New SAFEs Calculator(safes.carta.com)

   5 points by sam-at-vouch 6y ago|0 comments
2. 2.▲
   by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

   Thanks for the thoughtful post -- let me expand on what I wrote previously, as I want to be clear: our goal is not to disrupt brokers; rather, it's to build new insurance products that uniquely meet the needs of high-growth technology
3. 3.▲
   by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

   Thanks for the question: our policies are backed by Munich Re, which is an A+ rated (by AM Best) reinsurer.
4. 4.▲
   by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

   My experience has been that brokers can add a lot of value with mature companies, but they oftentimes over-complicate things for earlier-stage companies -- so making things simple, transparent, etc. is really key, which is what we're t
5. 5.▲
   by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

   Sorry for typo -- will amend!
6. 6.▲
   by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

   I'm glad you had a good experience for your business, but I can also say that's not the case for many entrepreneurs we've worked with (we've done coverage assessments for 150+, and that's growing quickly). With Vouc
7. 7.▲
   by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

   Thanks for sharing your experiences and agreed w/ the pace of change in insurance generally. Our view is that by building an insurance provider end-to-end using software we can take out a lot of this friction and better adapt to our cl
8. 8.▲
   by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

   We're sadly not live in NY yet but will be soon -- I'll let you know as soon as we are.
9. 9.▲
   by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

   Hi -- yes, we can serve any company based in CA (or the other states where we're live, regardless of where that company is incorporated), so we should be able to help!
10. 10.▲
    by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

    Thanks very much for sharing your experience and I'm sorry we haven't been able to cover your needs yet. Serving boot-strapped businesses is part of our plan (just not in this first release) so I'll circle back as soon as we
11. 11.▲
    by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

    Thanks for the questions. To each: 1) all of the programs we developed with our insurance partners are filed, and therefore available publicly 2) in any insurance program filing, it's important to justify rates in the context of projec
12. 12.▲
    by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

    Both NewFront and Cover are digitally-enabled brokers -- they distribute existing carriers' insurance policies. We think highly of both of them, but we see a need to create insurance programs (including the digital experience and the u
13. 13.▲
    by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

    We are an insurance program manager (or "MGA" in insurance speak), and our insurance programs are back-stopped by Munich Re, one of the largest re-insurers in the world. We very purposefully didn't set the company up as tradi
14. 14.▲
    by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

    Right now we're focused on providing insurance for technology start-ups (so think software, internet, fintech, digital health, etc) but we're planning broaden this so we can serve a much wider range of companies over time. Thanks
15. 15.▲
    by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

    To your 5th question on pricing: in general, to get a new insurance program approved you need to file with the states. Part of that filing includes a list of rating factors. What state regulators seem to care about most are: (1) is your pri
16. 16.▲
    by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

    We worked closely with our reinsurance partner (Munich Re) to develop our underwriting and pricing framework. They are back-stopping any claims associated with our policies, and are one of the two largest and best-rated re-insurers in the w
17. 17.▲
    by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

    Thank you for the feedback. We agree -- education is key here. Thanks also for the feedback on the font; we'll see what we can do to make that better/easier to read. Thanks again.
18. 18.▲
    by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

    Hi -- thanks for the questions, to each: 1) we're live in CA, OR, UT, CO, IL, MI, OH, IN and MI (so 9 states); we'll be launching in many more over the coming months; 2) insurance licensing happens at three levels -- for the entit
19. 19.▲
    by sam-at-vouch 7y ago

    Thanks for the feedback and very much agreed: for many companies, E&O is a critical coverage and one that founders may not know much about. It's a core part of our offering for companies that have launched product and are scaling.
20. 20.▲
    Launch HN: Vouch (YC S19) – Business Insurance for Startups

    88 points by sam-at-vouch 7y ago|68 comments