Quotey may be the new kid on the block, but its relationship with a successful brokerage has helped bolster its credibility as a commercial insurance marketplace and propel its growth.
Launched in late 2022, Quotey touts itself as a multi-insurer quoting and product comparison platform for commercial insurance brokers.
The platform, which costs $10 a month, allows brokers to complete a single digital application for more than 700 classes of business and receive multiple quotes instantly.
It was incubated at Mitch Insurance, formerly Mitchell & Whale Insurance Brokers, one of the largest brokerages in Ontario.
“Mitch is a is a great partner broker, and a great innovator in the marketplace,” said Nick Kidd (pictured), CEO and co-founder of Quotey.
“The partnership has helped dramatically to introduce us to insurers and give relevance and credibility to Quotey during its very early days.”
The idea for Quotey came more than three years ago to Kidd, who has worked in insurance companies for over 25 years and was seeking solutions to streamline commercial insurance broking.
He saw common themes manifesting in different but substantial ways for insurers, MGAs, and brokers. But he found that the issues for brokers were particularly acute and painful.
“Being a commercial broker is like running a Tough Mudder event. You’re running through several inches of mud, over fences, under logs, and up ladders,” Kidd said. “Everything’s designed to wear you down.”
For the CEO, it was clear that there was something broken in the commercial insurance model in Canada, resulting in poor outcomes for brokers, insurers, and clients alike.
Around three years ago, Kidd wanted to put some of his ideas to the test. He started building prototypes and developing solutions to show brokers.
Encouraged by their feedback, Kidd built an enterprise-grade version of their platform and decided to put it through the rigors of a commercial insurance brokerage: Mitch Insurance.
“We developed some of the key elements [of the platform] inside a working brokerage, which helped us to evaluate how the entire thing hangs together and works from a practical standpoint,” said Kidd.
“I could sit behind a member of the Mitch team talking to a client on the phone, watch them go through the process, and think, ‘Okay, that doesn’t work. Let’s move it.’ We could iterate super-fast.”
Quotey eventually expanded to several other brokerages, which became early beta testers of the platform over the course of 18 months.
For Kidd, the ability to hyper-iterate in real time based on brokers’ workflows made his start-up unique in the insurtech space.
“It felt like a smart thing to do at the time,” he said. “If there's one compliment people pay me, it’s that it does feel like Quotey was created with a brokerage’s lens, rather than in Silicon Valley by tech people that don't understand the daily trials and tribulations of being commercial insurance broker in Canada.”
Quotey is continuing to add more lines and more insurers and MGAs to its marketplace. Most recently, it added Sports & Fitness Canada’s health and beauty products to its roster.
Later this year, the platform will also expand to offer Sports & Fitness Canada’s solutions for health clubs, personal trainers, martial arts studios, and sports teams.
The ultimate vision for Quotey is “part shopping mall and part workflow,” according to its CEO.
“It’s connecting brokers to their insurance companies and transforming the way they think about their processes and how they support their clients,” said Kidd.
“We’re connecting you to different insurers in the shopping mall. But equally, we're giving you the full rundown and side by side comparison of all the products those different insurers are offering.”
As for broker partnerships? The benefit being a small start-up is that Quotey can remain extremely close to its customers.
“Sometimes it’s listening to the input of one brokerage, then saying, ‘Okay, I’m going to consult a few others and get some ideas on how to wrap it off,’ and market test the idea,” Kidd said.
“You never know which brokerage the next great idea is going to come from.”
What are your thoughts on this story? Let us know in the comments.
