InsurTech startup Propeller Bonds raises $6.4m in seed funding

By Edlyn Cardoza

Philadelphia-based InsurTech, Propeller, Inc., has announced that it has raised $6.4 million in seed funding led by a consortium of industry partners. This round of funding will enable the company to accelerate growth and further its mission of transforming the surety industry. The company will use the funds to invest in people, finish its development roadmap, expand its product base, and drastically increase marketing and sales efforts to add agents to the company’s ecosystem.

To date, Propeller has signed on with over 2,100 insurance agencies nationwide and continues to receive rapid adoption among the agent and broker community. Propeller offers agents and brokers a white-labeled URL that houses nearly 7,000 surety bond obligations and allows both agents and customers to quote, pay, and receive their bonds within minutes. Beyond this, Propeller offers underwriting expertise via proprietary programs, making the solution a ‘bolt-on’ surety department for many agents and brokers, as well as for carriers who partner with Propeller.

“Just as Propeller’s approach to the surety industry has been different, we opted for a unique approach to our seed round,” said Aaron Steffey, CEO, and Co-Founder of Propeller. “Propeller was able to construct our funding from multiple strategic partners within the industry, all of whom believe in our mission to make the surety bonding process fast and easy. Our partners in this seed funding include insurance companies, wholesalers, agents, venture capitalists, and even individuals from within the industry who see our vision and want to be a part of the Propeller story.”

Steffey added, “My Co-Founder and Co-CEO Chris Kolger and I set out to build a high-growth, profitable, sustainable business with the help of our investment partners in an effort to truly propel the surety industry forward. This funding gets us that much closer to our goal.”

Propeller Inc. is a digital MGA equipped with a proprietary instant issue surety bond platform. The platform currently houses nearly 7,000 instant-issue surety bonds. The company private labels the platform for agencies, allowing agents to either purchase bonds for clients or empower clients to purchase bonds directly.