Jennifer Fitzgerald

Insurtech Concirrus has secured an agreement with a US specialty insurer, enhancing its footprint in North America. Stay updated: https://buff.ly/OiPopk0 #Insurtech #NorthAmericaExpansion

8

It’s not an accident that in nearly every state, only licensed attorneys can own a law firm. That’s a design choice. And like most design choices in legal, it has a tradeoff that doesn’t get discussed enough. The consumer protection argument is real. Non-lawyer ownership can introduce incentives that don’t serve clients. But limiting who can build legal businesses limits competition, and limited competition keeps prices high. That cost doesn’t fall on people with corporate legal budgets. It falls on everyone already priced out. Arizona loosened the rules, and over 100 alternative structures got approved almost immediately. More entrants, more models, more options for people who currently have none. Most states aren’t following. Which is defensible. It just means the affordability problem stays exactly where it is, by design. Who actually bears the cost when we make it harder to build cheaper alternatives to traditional law firms? Link: https://lnkd.in/epuHg_Ae

5

Couldn't be more bullish on Equal Parts and Michael Witte, congrats on the $23m Series A and pumped to have Inspired Capital and Mark Batsiyan join the cap table. Max Ventures is a proud day zero investor. I’m generally skeptical of the VC trend of “roll up businesses + deploy AI = venture returns,” but Equal Parts is both a compelling exception and an illustrative use case for how this strategy can work. 1) Real operating results, quickly. Since founding in March 2025, Equal Parts has driven ~40% revenue growth across acquired agencies and nearly 50% bottom-line improvement. Independent insurance agencies are deeply under-served technologically — but these gains are still very notable by any standard. 2) Platform, not just roll-up. Their operating platform gives agencies shared infrastructure and automation that accelerates scale. It also supports new agency formation and spin-outs from large carriers — creating a broader ecosystem effect. At scale, this starts to look like a “Shopify-ication” for independent insurance businesses (h/t Ryan Darnell for the framing 😁). 3) Timing tailwinds. The industry faces a generational transition, with roughly half of agency owners expected to retire in the next decade. Equal Parts provides an exit path that preserves culture and autonomy while upgrading operations — increasing both acquisition supply and tech adoption among next-gen owners (who are hopefully more apt to adopt tech). 4) Team Quality. Michael Witte, Mike Meller and Graham Yennie are exceptional operators — which is ultimately what makes a thesis like this executable. Takeaway an AI-enabled roll-up winning strategy: (a) a structurally under-served industry, (b) a real operating platform that benefits acquisitions, existing businesses, and new entrants, (c) demographic tailwinds, and (d) of course high-caliber operators = 🚀🚀🚀. https://lnkd.in/dzxQR2s2

78

7 Comments

California Court of Appeal: No Actual Damages Required for Certain Consumer Reporting Claims Recent California Court of Appeal decisions confirm that claims under the Investigative Consumer Reporting Agencies Act (ICRAA) can proceed without proof of actual harm, with potential statutory exposure of $10,000 per violation. Why this matters for furnishers: - Risk increasingly turns on process, documentation, and technical compliance, not just data accuracy - Even accurate data and non‑adverse outcomes may not insulate furnishers from downstream claims - Defensible data practices are becoming a core compliance requirement Bottom line: In California, it’s no longer enough for furnished data to be correct—it must also be provably well‑governed, consistent, and auditable. That’s where Data Quality Scanner (DQS) helps: by continuously identifying data quality gaps, inconsistencies, and control weaknesses, DQS helps furnishers build automated, defensible data practices before issues become regulatory or litigation exposure. https://lnkd.in/ezHsPQv4 https://lnkd.in/eTcvWbgu #ICRAA #Furnishers #ConsumerReporting #DataQuality #Compliance #RegTech #RiskManagement

3

The insurance industry touches every aspect of our economy, but it’s long overdue for an update. As an AI-native brokerage, Harper (YC W25) is bringing insurance into the future. Quick coverage guarantees allow underwriters to refocus energy on bringing necessary coverage to our everyday businesses, not manually coordinating between the 400,000+ American insurance brokerages.  Insurance quietly secures the world around us. Harper’s end-to-end platform makes sure that same security is ready for the AI era. Read more on why Emergence Capital and Carlotta "Lotti" Siniscalco are backing Harper’s $47 million raise: https://lnkd.in/gphhP4PA

19

2 Comments

Frequent severe storms are becoming the insurance industry’s biggest recurring problem. Insured losses from Severe Convective Storms (hail, wind, and severe thunderstorms) reached $61B in 2025 according to Aon's Climate and Catastrophe Insight, making them the costliest insured peril of the year and reinforcing a shift toward more frequent, distributed loss events rather than single headline catastrophes. "In a matter of a few years, SCS is likely to become the third-costliest peril overall, owing to an increasing frequency of medium-sized loss events. This is a trend consistently seen in the U.S. and Europe, where the number of billion-dollar events is rising rapidly," the report states. The insurance cycle is being shaped less by one-off hurricanes and more by repeat mid-sized shocks. Here are a few other signals from this week’s news. From the policy and business side: 💨 The EPA is set to revoke the 2009 endangerment finding on 12 February, removing the legal basis for federal greenhouse gas regulation under the Clean Air Act. The White House calls it a $1.3T deregulatory move; legal challenges are already underway. 💷 UK weather-related payouts are set to hit £1.6bn, with Deloitte projecting 2025 claims will exceed the £1.3bn paid in 2024 and more than double annual averages from 2017–2021. Claims are rising even as premiums fall from 2024 highs. From the weather front: 🇲🇬 Cyclone Gezani killed at least 31 people in Madagascar after making landfall near Toamasina, with widespread power outages and building collapses. ⛈️ Spain and Portugal were hit by their third deadly storm in two weeks, with torrential rain flooding farmland and causing crop damage across Andalucía and beyond. 🗓️ A new Climate Central analysis finds winters have shortened in 195 of 245 major U.S. cities since 1970, with the coldest 90-day period now lasting nine fewer days on average compared with 1970–1997. In cities such as Juneau and Anchorage, winter has shrunk by 62 and 49 days respectively. If this roundup is useful, feel free to repost or share it with others following adaptation and climate risk. And if you’re investing or building in the space, let’s connect. Sources linked in comments.

41

4 Comments

Where is fintech heading this year? While it hasn’t been the busiest vertical in venture, it’s far from lacking in opportunity. I expect the most interesting traction this year to come from companies building at or near the infrastructure layer. In insurance, the operational core is finally opening up. Buyers want automation where the economics live: claims, underwriting, servicing. That’s where startups can now integrate directly and start moving both loss and expense ratios. In fintech credit, the reset is already underway. Live, real-time data makes it possible to underwrite continuously and build materially better loan books than incumbents, at scale. Perhaps growth and default rates no longer have to trade off. My prediction: 2026 will bring a quieter wave of infrastructure-like businesses fixing very specific P&L problems. Here are my full predictions, alongside Benjamin Deplus's on BREEGA's view on European fintech: https://lnkd.in/eFdNp9aE Happy New Year!

36

4 Comments