Tech Bytes: New Partnerships at Pathpoint, Keller Williams, Ascend

April 1, 2022

Pathpoint, a technology provider that aims to streamline placing small commercial E&S accounts, announced a partnership with Bold Penguin to deliver access to Pathpoint’s technology for non-admitted products to users of the Bold Penguin Terminal.

The Bold Penguin platform allows insurance agents to quote small business insurance through an integrated application and return multiple quotes. In the first phase of the integration, Pathpoint will offer its general liability coverage for a variety of small business types, including contractors, lessor’s risk only, vacant property and restaurants on the platform, expanding upon Bold Penguin’s capabilities through the addition of non-admitted products.

Founded in 2017, Pathpoint is a digital specialty wholesale broker. Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio, Bold Penguin aims to ease the quoting and binding process for small commercial insurance.

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Keller Williams, a real estate technology franchise, entered into a strategic partnership with bolt, a property/casualty insurance exchange.

Keller Covered, an insurance marketplace for KW agents and consumers, will use bolt’s SaaS-based insurance exchange to expand distribution, create new products and offer more choices.

Austin, Texas-based Keller Williams has more than 1,100 offices and 200,000 associates. It is in the process of forming kwx, an integrated home experience company, which will be composed of Keller Williams Realty Inc., Keller Williams Worldwide and Keller Home Financial Services, consisting of Keller Mortgage, Keller Offers, Keller Covered, Keller Title and The Partnership Platform.

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InsurTech infrastructure companies Ascend and Stere announced an anchor partnership. The two companies will be teaming up to provide existing brokers, managing general agents and carriers with digital experiences.

Ascend is a modern insurance payments platform that provides automated all-in-one financing, collections and payables. Stere allows businesses to find capacity and access digital tools to launch, improve and grow insurance programs. Both companies work to digitize aspects of the insurance value chain.

This is the first of many partnerships Ascend will be investing in to deepen its relationships with other InsurTechs, MGAs, AMS and other embedded insurance carriers, it said in a company press release.

Sources: Pathpoint, Keller Williams, Ascend