The commercial insurance industry, estimated to be just under $1T per year, has long been plagued by inefficient processes built on legacy systems of paper and PDFs, creating significant friction between carriers and distributors. Despite the industry being populated by forward-thinking professionals eager for innovation, technological limitations have hindered progress and created bottlenecks in the quoting and binding process. CoverForce connects carriers and agencies through an infrastructure platform that serves as a leading marketplace for quote-and-bind API connections in commercial insurance. The company’s technology enables seamless digital interactions between carriers, agencies, and wholesalers, allowing customers to instantly quote, pay, bind, and issue policies across multiple lines of business including Workers’ Compensation, General Liability, Business Owner’s Policies, and Cyber. By standardizing data flows and enabling real-time connectivity with major carriers like AmTrust, Chubb, Liberty Mutual, and Travelers, CoverForce has dramatically reduced integration times from months to weeks, saving partners millions in R&D costs while enabling over 9,600 producers nationwide to operate faster and more efficiently.
AlleyWatch sat down with CoverForce CEO and Co-founder Cyrus Karai to learn more about the business, its future plans, and recent $13M Series A round.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We just closed a $13M Series A led by Insight Partners, with participation from Nyca Partners, Gaingels, and Sidekick. It’s a big milestone for us and really sets the stage for the next phase of our growth.
Tell us about the product or service that CoverForce offers.
CoverForce is an infrastructure platform designed for commercial insurance. We offer the leading API marketplace for commercial lines markets and build custom development UI solutions for our enterprise customers. These support multiple lines of business, including Business Owner’s Policies, General Liability, Cyber, and Workers’ Compensation. Our platform streamlines the quoting and binding process, making it faster and more efficient for agencies, wholesalers, and carriers.
What inspired the start of CoverForce?
I’ve always been drawn to solving complex problems, and insurance presented a huge opportunity. The industry is full of incredibly smart and forward-thinking people who are eager for innovation, but legacy systems have held them back. Seeing their excitement when discussing a more seamless, digital future made me want to help build that future with CoverForce.
How is CoverForce different?
The biggest differentiator is that CoverForce is fully integrated with carrier APIs. That means when agents use our platform – whether through the UI or API – they’re getting bindable quotes, not just indicative ones that might change later. This creates a seamless, end-to-end experience where policies can be quoted, issued, and bound in one place, without having to jump through hoops. Moreover, we work with carriers and MGAs to build out their API capabilities for improved speed and efficiency.
What market does CoverForce target and how big is it?
We’re operating in the P&C insurance space, which is massive – over $960B in annual written premiums. There’s a huge opportunity to modernize how insurance is distributed and purchased.
What’s your business model?
Our model is simple: we help carriers and MGAs digitize their distribution by enabling instant quote-and-bind experiences for their partners—whether that’s agencies, brokers, or other distribution channels. We also build enterprise-grade solutions to fit the unique workflows of large-scale carriers and MGAs, helping them scale faster and more efficiently.
How has the business changed since we last spoke in the Fall of 2023 after CoverForce’s seed round?
Since our Seed round, we’ve been laser-focused on building out the core API engine that powers a standardized approach to quoting and binding across multiple carriers. The progress has been incredible – our platform now supports integrations with more than 15 major carriers, and we’ve significantly expanded our partnerships with agencies and wholesalers.
What was the funding process like?
It moved surprisingly fast. We had a few investors keeping tabs on our progress, and our early advisors and seed investors did a great job of helping us stay focused on the right milestones to make this round happen. When we hit those targets, we approached the firms we believed would be the best long-term partners. Insight Partners stood out immediately – they have a strong track record in infrastructure businesses, and their operating team is incredibly hands-on in supporting their portfolio companies. It felt like the right fit from day one.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
My cofounders and I are deeply immersed in the insurance space – we know the people, the challenges, and the opportunities. But for many SaaS and FinTech investors, insurance is still an emerging frontier. At first, there’s often skepticism about the impact startups can have in this space. But once they see how engaged our customers are and how much they rely on CoverForce, that skepticism quickly turns into excitement.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
I think it comes down to three key things: trust, execution, and value creation. We’ve built strong relationships with our customers, and they trust us to solve real pain points. Our team has a track record of executing at a high level, even on complex projects. And the value we provide – both in terms of efficiency and revenue growth – is something our customers consistently highlight. In fact, when Insight surveyed our customers, we received the highest possible NPS score, which really reinforced our impact.
I think it comes down to three key things: trust, execution, and value creation. We’ve built strong relationships with our customers, and they trust us to solve real pain points. Our team has a track record of executing at a high level, even on complex projects. And the value we provide – both in terms of efficiency and revenue growth – is something our customers consistently highlight. In fact, when Insight surveyed our customers, we received the highest possible NPS score, which really reinforced our impact.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We’re doubling down on engineering and integrations. Our main focus is scaling up our carrier and MGA connections, refining our API capabilities, and accelerating customer onboarding. Essentially, we want to make it even easier for agencies and brokers to access instant, bindable quotes across multiple carriers.
What advice can you offer companies in New York that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
Be disciplined with your spending. At CoverForce, frugality is part of our DNA – we treat every dollar like it’s our own. Before we spend money on something, we ask ourselves: Can we do this ourselves? Is this absolutely necessary? That mindset has allowed us to achieve our first seven figures in sales with almost zero marketing spend. It forces you to focus on what truly moves the needle.
Where do you see the company going now in the near term?
Our priority is deepening our partnerships with enterprise customers and helping them accelerate their digital transformation. That means understanding their unique needs, refining our technology to fit their workflows, and making it easier than ever for them to distribute and sell insurance efficiently.
What’s your favorite restaurant in the city?
Without a doubt, Au Cheval in Tribeca. Their burger – with the thick-cut bacon – is pure happiness. Anytime a friend visits New York, Kaivan and I make sure to take them there.
