Bunker raises $2 million seed round for first contract-related insurance marketplace

Industry leading investors aim to breathe innovation into insurance industry starting with 1099 workforce

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Jun 07, 2016, 07:30 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, June 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Bunker, a San Francisco based insurance technology startup, is announcing its $2 million seed funding round. The round was co-led by Comcast Ventures and Route 66 Ventures. Insurance carriers Hiscox and American Family Ventures also participated in the round.

Bunker, who plans to launch its first product this summer, is initially focused on improving the experience for small business insurance. The founding team of Chad Nitschke, Dan Feidt, and Steve Giddens have a diverse breadth of expertise across the insurance, tech, and user experience fields.

Co-Founders Dan Feidt, Steve Giddens, and Chad Nitschke

"We've been working on this for over a year, spending the first eight months listening to customers and testing prototypes before even talking to insurance carriers," said Chad Nitschke, co-founder and CEO of Bunker. "The feedback was clear, simply taking the existing offline process and just moving it online is not the future. We're proud and excited to be tackling this problem in a truly unique way for small businesses and contingent workers."

One area of initial focus will be the 1099 or 'gig' economy. As more businesses leverage contingent staffing models, the need to manage the associated risk is growing. A recent study conducted by Fieldglass, in partnership with Ardent Partners, showed that nearly 35% of today's total workforce is comprised of non-employee workers. It further found that 95% of businesses now view this new workforce as a key element to running a successful business.

"Bunker has redesigned the insurance experience for independent contractors and small businesses," said Callum King, Principal at Comcast Ventures, "With deep domain expertise in insurance, the Bunker team is well positioned to digitize an archaic process and drive continued innovation."

"Route 66 is excited to back another stellar team looking to modernize the insurance sector," added Ben Britt, General Partner at Route 66 Ventures, "the industry is at a tipping point, and Bunker is on the leading edge."

Bunker Protect, Inc. is headquartered in San Francisco, with a second office in Madison, Wisconsin.

About Bunker:
Bunker, based in San Francisco, CA, was founded in 2015 to redefine the insurance value chain. Through the creation of the first ever contract-related insurance marketplace, they are changing the way insurance products are provided, managed, and designed.

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SOURCE Bunker