Kalepa has built a first-of-its-kind Efficient Frontier commercial insurance platform. Expanding on the success of its Copilot software, the company is also launching a Copilot-powered MGA, Kalepa Insurance Services. Kalepa has also appointed veteran insurance leader Mario Vitale, who formerly held CEO positions at Aspen Insurance, Zurich Insurance Global Corporate, and Willis North America to its Board of Directors
Kalepa, the leader in Efficient Frontier commercial insurance, announces that it has raised a $14MM Series A led by Inspired Capital, with participation from previous investor IA Ventures. Leading fintech operators and experts in embedded finance also joined the round, including Gokul Rajaram of Doordash, Coinbase, and formerly of Google, Jackie Reses, formerly of Square, and Henry Ward of Carta. This financing will fuel Kalepa’s launch of an MGA—Kalepa Insurance Services—to further accelerate Kalepa’s mission of partnering with leading commercial insurers to deliver Efficient Frontier insurance to businesses across the country.
Kalepa was founded by Paul Monasterio, an MIT-trained PhD in Computational Physics and Nuclear Science, and Daniel Hillman, a UPenn-educated Systems Science Engineer and former intelligence lead in the Israel Defense Forces. They launched their AI-powered Copilot software in 2018 to empower commercial insurance underwriters. Kalepa’s technology has significantly improved both loss and expense ratios for partners, which currently include 3 of the top 15 US commercial insurance companies. Over the past three months alone, Kalepa’s ARR has tripled.
“InsureTech has seen a massive evolution over the past decade, but commercial insurance—which supports hard-working business owners and protects their most important assets—has been left behind. At Kalepa, we are proud to lead the charge in modernizing commercial insurance,” says Kalepa Co-Founder and CEO, Paul Monasterio. “We leverage billions of data points and unlock crucial insights in order to bring businesses and insurers a single version of the truth. This transparency enables businesses to get the coverage that they need and realigns incentives towards risk mitigation and collaboration.”
“We call our core technology engine Copilot, because it augments human understanding of risk. We have built a first-of-its-kind Efficient Frontier solution for better selecting and managing risk in commercial insurance,” adds Co-Founder Daniel Hillman. “We have seen tremendous demand for an expanded offering to support carriers looking to further improve underwriting quality. Our MGA, Kalepa Insurance Services, is the next step in advancing our mission.”
Read More: XML Financial Group Completes Merger with Collins Investment Group
“Commercial insurance represents a $1T industry globally and helps 30 million U.S. businesses. Kalepa has brought some of the sharpest minds in understanding risk to this segment of the insurance market that has long been in need of innovation,” says Penny Pritzker, co-founder at Inspired Capital and former U.S. Secretary of Commerce. “We are proud to partner with Paul, Danny, and team as they now expand the reach of Kalepa to more insurers and brokers, and in doing so, protect the livelihoods of small businesses across the country.”
In addition, veteran insurance leader Mario Vitale has joined Kalepa’s Board of Directors. He brings over four decades of industry experience, serving as CEO of several of the foremost insurance carriers and brokers including Aspen Insurance, Zurich Global Corporate and Willis North America.
“In the time I’ve spent getting to know the Kalepa team over the last two years, it is clear that Paul and Danny have both the vision and the technical expertise to transform how commercial insurance is underwritten, driving positive outcomes for insurance carriers, brokers, and businesses alike,” says Mario Vitale, Kalepa Board Member. “I am proud to join Kalepa’s Board and advance their critical mission to elevate commercial insurance to a new frontier.”
Through Kalepa’s MGA, the company is also embedding Efficient Frontier insurance into the operating systems that businesses use on a daily basis through partnerships with leading business technology providers including point-of-sale, delivery and business management solutions.
“Kalepa will be the dominant player in enabling businesses to access insurance in a transparent and reliable manner through partners they love and trust,” says Gokul Rajaram, who participated in this round. “Kalepa has an unparalleled understanding of the specific needs of each business, allowing them to deliver a superior product – this presents an enormous opportunity to deliver enduring value.”
Read More: CAIS Welcomes Angelo Gordon to SALT NY Alternative Investments Track
