Insuretech Outmarket raises $34.5M just months after prior round

Vishal Sankhala led product at a digital life insurance distributor Ethos before it went public earlier this year. In late 2023, the seasoned engineering executive, who had previously worked at Facebook and Uber, left Ethos and launched Outmarket, a startup that uses AI to help insurance agencies and brokers automate all their tedious paperwork.

“Ninety-five percent of insurance in the U.S. and worldwide is still sold through [human] agents, and when you look at sort of like how the process is today, it’s very manual,” Sankhala told TechCrunch. “This is a huge opportunity given how massive this industry is.”

Outmarket focuses on commercial insurance because these policies involve deep nuances and custom tailoring for every business. Companies must navigate a complex mix of coverage options, ranging from general liability and workers’ compensation to directors and officers (D&O) liability.

“There are over 250 different types of coverages that are out there, depending on what business you are and what risk you have and what you want to cover,” Sankhala said. “For each of those, the process is very different. The application forms you need to fill out, the documents you need to read.”