Ferro is an Omaha-based company that aims to simplify the commercial property & casualty insurance buying experience for the better. The insurance industry has evolved relatively slowly from a technological standpoint and is ripe for automation & digitization. Insurers and brokers alike owe their customers a better experience, and much of that can be done with creative insurtech solutions.
Ferro founder Chris Senkbile noticed several areas where digital processing could streamline the overall process; he seized the opportunity to create Ferro. The Ferro insurtech platform allows companies looking to purchase insurance to collaborate more closely with their broker, simplify the buying process, and save time and money.
Senkbile compared Ferro to Turbo Tax in its capacity to streamline the insurance buying process, providing much-needed simplification. “We are hyper-focused on the client experience, and the neat part is the more we focus on the client, we are finding tremendous efficiency gains for brokers and insurers…almost like the client is helping bring the industry into alignment,” said Senkbile.
To make his vision of Ferro a reality, Senkbile has worked with Alex Bacon, co-founder and key developer of Ferro. The two needed to test their product before release, and thanks to Senkbile’s employment at UNICO, he had the perfect partner willing to support the vision and help facilitate beta testing.
Senkbile brought the product to his brokerage firm partners, and UNICO clients were the first to use the product. Ferro has received high praise from those who have had the opportunity to experience the benefits of the platform.
Senkbile remarked, “The product market validation was a huge step for our company…getting validation from the brokerage and its clients was when it clicked for us.” Currently, the company has 40 end-user clients, and Ferro plans to grow this number steadily as the company expands the number of brokerages that use its technology to give their customers a better buying experience.
Ferro recently finished a SAFE note (Simple Agreement for Future Equity) financing round. This funding will help the company to develop its product further as it brings Ferro to market. Another recent milestone for Ferro was being selected for the Future Fellows Program, an accelerator program put on by the team at The Start-Up Collaborative and First National Bank of Omaha (FNBO).
As explained by FNBO, “The program offered 40 inducted Fellows a framework and team of advisors to help grow ideas into early businesses.” At the end of the program, Ferro was one of just five businesses selected by the advisors of the program to receive a grant for development. Senkbile said, “We were thrilled and honored to be recipients of the grant. The cherry on top was getting introduced to the leaders of FNBO’s bank-owned insurance agency, First National Insurance Corp, to discuss how the solution could benefit them.”
The Ferro team attended the InsureTech Connect conference in Las Vegas in October 2021, where they gained a tremendous amount of momentum. Ferro is looking to the future, and UNICO, Ferro’s beta tester, has recently partnered with BrokerTech Ventures, an accelerator and venture company known for bringing insurers, brokers, and insurtechs like Ferro together.
“I was really pleased that UNICO made the decision to join BTV—it will be good for the firm. The team at Ferro is excited to start the selection process for the competitive accelerator, and we are hopeful to be selected. Being selected would mean the world to Ferro as it would provide the collaborative environment of insurers, brokers and insurtechs that Ferro needs to go to the next level,” noted Senkbile.
Moving forward, the team at Ferro is feeling confident about the future of their insurtech company. As the first technology of its kind, Ferro is positioned for use by brokerage firms across the country that are looking for better ways to serve their clients and create a digital agency experience.
With the help of the connections made by Senkbile working in the industry and recent partnerships, the company already has an extensive network of potential clients. Ferro will undoubtedly be a company to watch as it accumulates clients and deploys its product to bring real change to the insurance industry.
To learn more about Ferro, visit the website at www.projectferro.com.
