Summit Commercial Solutions (Summit) is gearing up for its next phase of growth thanks to a $3.5 million seed round of financing.
The Kelowna, British Columbia-based commercial brokerage and risk management firm announced the funding earlier this month. The infusion of capital, led by IA Capital Group with follow-on investment from Harvest Ventures, marks a significant milestone in Summit’s journey.
Summit co-founders and managing partners Davis Gilbert and Josh Pillsbury spoke to Insurance Business about the next steps.
“We plan to use it to scale up day-to-day operations, hire more producers and invest in some bespoke technology solutions,” said Pillsbury. “We plan to use that capital strategically to grow the business over the next few years.”
Summit will continue to focus on serving the small- to mid-market space and strengthening its capabilities in its core verticals, such as manufacturing, hospitality, technology, and construction.
Gilbert said the brokerage will also seek to expand its risk management and insurance expertise as it hires more talent. Summit has about 22 full-time team members in Kelowna, Toronto, lower mainland BC, and Winnipeg.
“We know those verticals well and know what those buckets value from a risk management perspective,” Gilbert said.
“So, when we’re talking about building technology, we’re talking about technology that can easily integrate with other systems that might add more advice and counsel to further broaden and strengthen the risk management programs.”
According to Pillsbury, rapid consolidation among Canadian brokerages has narrowed career options for professionals entering the insurance broking business. As an independent brokerage, Summit wants to offer an alternative career path for entrepreneurial producers.
“There are just not a lot of options for younger insurance professionals to choose from. You can work with us, or you might work with a very large consolidator, or you might work with a regional brokerage, which may end up being acquired in the next year or two anyway,” said Pillsbury.
“I think we have a unique position in the market to offer young talent that wants to enter the industry and build a career in insurance.”
Summit’s approach to attracting and training new producers is centred on a robust training program.
“Getting more experienced producers makes some aspects of onboarding easier if they already have the knowledge and perhaps even have a book of business. That said, our strategy relies on training individuals and turning them into top producers,” said Pillsbury.
“We get them licenced within 30 days as a level one, then we’ll just graduate them into some basic sales activities to support a more senior broker, which propels them into becoming a senior producer in the future.”
Summit describes its mission as “building the commercial brokerage of the future.” It comes as no surprise that its co-founders are deepening their investment in technology.
According to Pillsbury, the brokerage is building a “light version” of an existing back-end solution to streamline policy management and market presentations for carriers. The submission and underwriting management platform would also help simplify producers’ work.
“We’re eliminating double entry on the broker side, so our full-time staff can be fully integrated into the CRM,” Gilbert added. “We are looking to build out direct integration with the carriers as well as have some in-house rating capacity.”
Empowering producers, removing barriers to their work, and eliminating heavy administrative burdens using technology are fundamental to Summit’s next stage of growth.
“We believe broker distribution will continue to be the primary distribution model for commercial insurance, and Summit is reinventing the traditional delivery of this model,” the firm said in a Press release announcing the seed funding.
“The industry is starved for top talent, combined with significant barriers to entry and rapid consolidation, leaving consumers and brokers buried in excessive paperwork, limited insurance options and a desire for change. It has constrained many skilled insurance professionals to administrative tasks, diverting their time and expertise from where it matters - our customers.”
What are your thoughts on Summit’s growth plans following its financing round?
