Insurtech seeking to ‘transform’ M&A insurance marketplace enters US market

Insurtech io.insure, a  “first of its kind” online mergers and acquisitions (M&A) insurance marketplace for small and medium-sized business (SME) transactions, has launched in the US with two senior hires.

Nate Stortzum joins the firm as managing partner – ioPartners, and Gregory A. de Keersmaeker as managing partner – ioCustomer Success.

The firm, part of the POP Holdings Group, seeks to transform the M&A insurance market for small and medium business by bringing data & technology-led efficiencies under a single licensed insurance infrastructure. The aim is to fill the risk protection gap in the SME business sector.

io.insure, and its global partnership with Fusion Specialty and its insurers, currently serve markets from seven underwriting, distribution or tech hubs across five continents. First available in Australia earlier this year, the platform is now being launched in the US and soon plans to expand to the UK, Europe and Asia, with financial lines and other specialty products to be announced in the near future.

In his role, Stortzum will build out the io.insure North America platform partnerships, making its services available to the M&A ecosystem, including the capability for ioPartners to white-label the platform and to scale rapidly across North America. de Keersmaeker is responsible for building ioCustomer Success, io.insure’s global customer-centric services arm, covering documentation, support, training, onboarding and enablement for the platform, while working closely with io.insure’s in-house 21 person platform development team.

Stortzum brings 17 years of experience in both senior broking and underwriting leadership roles. He was an original member of Alliant Insurance Services, one of the five largest M&A brokerage teams in the US Market, and ran professional, transactional and management lines in the Midwest Region for Ironshore Insurance Services.

de Keersmaeker is the first managing partner of ioCustomer Success. He spent a decade in enterprise sales engineering at market leading companies such as unicorn Cohesity and Commvault systems. Keersmaeker has extensive experience helping to build and secure global financial enterprises, including insurance startups with a background in Data Management and Disaster Recovery.

Stortzum said: “io.insure provide a unique InsurTech-solution for today’s marketplace. With personalized products, data and a technology platform designed for white labelling by partners, this is the delivery of a far better insurance experience for insureds, their brokers, and advisers. io.insure provides a marketplace for the underserved M&A sector of small and medium sized businesses.”

de Keersmaeker said:“io.insure is one of the most dynamic and game-changing companies I have encountered to date, with its best-of-breed, “no shortcuts” approach to redefining M&A insurance, and a platform designed for big data and machine learning from its inception. ioCustomerSuccess inscribes itself in this dynamic with its extensive support team, built for servicing global markets, and an enterprise-grade focus on proactive customer and partner assistance. As we organically help shift the market, ease-of-use and access to support are the keys to rapid market adoption.”

Rogers (pictured, left) commented: “io.insure is building a marketplace while servicing the existing market by mitigating risks, bringing greater efficiency, and solving the supply issues resulting from a shortage of global expertise in M&A insurance. The combination of Nate and Greg will make an impressive team as we build our business in North America.”

McDermott (pictured, right) added: “We are very pleased to welcome Nate, Greg and the ioCustomer Success team. We will announce further hires in the near future, in support of the growing number of ioPartners and the deployment of the io.insure marketplace across North America.”

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