BrokerTech Ventures now represents more than $2.1 billion in collective agency distribution.
Des Moines, IA – March 10, 2020 – BrokerTech Ventures (BTV), the industry’s first broker-led investor group and accelerator program, is pleased to announce the addition of five new investor partners or sponsors, including Heffernan Insurance Brokers, Inc., The Horton Group, Inc., IMA Financial Group, MJ Insurance, and Woodruff Sawyer, and the appointment of a new chief operating officer (COO), Susan Hatten, who previously served as the BTV interim executive director during the formation of the company.
“The addition of these five agencies adds more than $750 million to our existing distribution platform, equating to more than $2.1 billion among all 14 of our investor partners,” said Dan Keough, Holmes Murphy chairman and CEO and BTV co-CEO. “These new investor partners view innovation through the same lens as we do at BrokerTech Ventures, and as our leadership team continues to solidify with Susan Hatten stepping in full-time as COO, this is the perfect time to bring in new partners and sponsors. We could not be more excited to have Susan’s vision and energies directing our business operations at this important point in our growth timeline.”
The broad distribution provided by the entire BTV partner network is critical for the startup teams or cohort participating in the BTV Accelerator, currently in progress in Des Moines, Iowa, with a follow-along curriculum taking place in a “road show” format between May-August of 2020. Twelve startups were selected to take part in the inaugural BTV Accelerator, representing both property and casualty (P&C) and employee benefits/clinical technology solutions.
“We see tremendous opportunity ahead as we continue to build out BrokerTech Ventures and our towers of operation,” said Mike Victorson, M3 Insurance president and CEO and BTV co-CEO. “We have a tiger by the tail in terms of the insurance industry’s mentality of innovation, and BrokerTech Ventures has much more to offer as we expand our business model.”
These newly-announced investor partners and sponsors join the current owners — Holmes Murphy, M3 Insurance, PayneWest Insurance, ABD Insurance & Financial Services, Conner Strong & Buckelew, Assurance, Graham Company, InterWest Insurance Services, and Hylant Insurance.
“From a whiteboard concept in May 2019 to our brand launch at InsureTech Connect in September of last year, it has been an absolutely incredible and fast-paced adventure in building BrokerTech Ventures alongside Dan Keough, Mike Victorson, Ellen Willadsen, and all of our owners and partners,” said Hatten, who will continue to represent Holmes Murphy in a director role with the Holmes Murphy Foundation and community engagement initiatives. “I am honored and impassioned by the opportunity to continue to create value for BrokerTech Ventures and our stakeholders.”
# # #
About BrokerTech Ventures (BTV)
Based in the insurance nucleus of Des Moines, Iowa, BrokerTech Ventures is the first broker-led investor group and accelerator program focused on delivering innovation to the insurance broker industry. Founded in 2019, BrokerTech Ventures provides a venue for the best minds in insurance and technology to collaborate and bring to market leading-edge ideas and solutions. BrokerTech Ventures invests in the research and testing for each of the chosen startups, provides access to veteran industry mentors, and helps scale the technology to market through broker distribution channels. Learn more at www.brokertechventures.com, or follow us on Twitter (@BrokerTechVen) or LinkedIn.
