Harper Raises $46.8M for AI-Powered Insurance Brokerage, Automating Submission Routing

Insurance brokerage platform Harper has raised $46.8 million in combined Series A and seed funding led by Emergence Capital, with participation from existing investors. The company, founded by Dakotah Rice who is stepping back into the founder's seat, aims to transform the insurance brokerage industry through AI automation.

Harper's platform focuses on automating two of the most time-consuming aspects of insurance brokerage: submission routing and follow-up. Traditionally, insurance brokers spend countless hours manually distributing policy submissions to appropriate carriers and tracking the status of these submissions through various stages of underwriting. Harper's AI system aims to streamline this entire workflow.

The platform uses machine learning to analyze insurance submissions and automatically route them to the most appropriate carriers based on historical data, underwriting guidelines, and carrier preferences. It then tracks each submission through the underwriting process, providing brokers with real-time status updates and automated follow-ups when submissions stall.

"Insurance brokerage has remained remarkably unchanged for decades, despite massive technological advancements in other financial services," said Rice in a statement. "We're applying AI to solve the core inefficiencies that cost brokers time and money while slowing down the process for clients."

The insurance brokerage industry, estimated to be worth over $100 billion in the U.S. alone, has been slow to adopt automation technologies. Many brokers still rely on manual processes, spreadsheets, and personal relationships to manage their submission workflows. Harper's approach targets these inefficiencies directly.

Emergence Capital, known for investments in vertical SaaS companies, sees Harper as addressing a significant pain point in the insurance industry. "The insurance brokerage process is ripe for disruption, and Harper's AI-first approach has shown impressive results in automating what has historically been a manual, relationship-driven business," said a partner at Emergence Capital.

The funding will be used to expand Harper's engineering team, enhance its AI models, and accelerate customer acquisition. The company plans to expand its platform to cover more insurance lines and deepen integrations with carrier systems.

However, challenges remain. Insurance underwriting remains a complex human-centric process that involves nuanced risk assessment difficult to fully automate. Carriers themselves have varying levels of technological sophistication, creating integration hurdles. Additionally, the insurance industry is heavily regulated, with compliance requirements that must be carefully navigated.

Harper's approach differs from some insurtech companies that focus on direct-to-consumer insurance products. Instead, it targets the B2B brokerage market, working with existing brokers rather than attempting to replace them. This strategy leverages the existing relationships brokers have with clients while providing technological augmentation.

The company faces competition from other insurtech platforms attempting to digitize brokerage workflows, as well as large insurance carriers developing their own automation tools. Success will likely depend on Harper's ability to demonstrate clear ROI for brokers, including increased submission-to-bind ratios and reduced operational costs.

As AI adoption accelerates in financial services, Harper's funding round reflects growing investor interest in applied AI solutions that address specific industry inefficiencies rather than general-purpose technologies. The company will need to balance technological innovation with the practical realities of insurance operations to deliver on its promises.