Meet the insurtech: 1Fort

When insurtech startup 1Fort launched a pilot of its platform automating cyber insurance coverage for retail brokers serving medium to large sized businesses in November 2022, it took on a market where it will have to fight for mindshare.

Photographer: Darren Filkins

"The key challenge with any new entrant [in cyber insurance] is about building a brand that both the end client and, in the case of intermediation, the broker, trust," said Jamie Macgregor, CEO of the Celent consultancy. "In cyber insurance, at the top end of the market, there are established brands who attract attention and are trusted. Although the market continues to grow, and there is an argument that any new entrant can tap into that growth, it still takes time to convince the channel and the end client that you are the right partner for a line of business as important as cyber."

1Fort's platform connects users' systems, such as cloud services, data management software and office utilities, to its cyber threat evaluation capabilities, according to Anthony Marshi, co-founder and CEO. From there, businesses using 1Fort can get better coverage, he explained.

"This allows us to automatically and continuously call out their security gaps," Marshi said. "We guide them through the fixes. The goal is to really help businesses secure better cyber insurance policies and premiums in a matter of weeks, but also to give them the tools to continuously monitor cyber risk, so they can avoid using the policy in the first place."

1Fort announced $2 million in pre-seed venture capital funding on June 27. 

"Financing is really going to help us make crucial hires, continue to improve and expand our product offering and strengthen relationships with brokers," Marshi said. 

Although cybersecurity threat levels have recently decreased, ransomware costs are driving up premiums for cyber coverage. Last year, in a Nationwide survey survey of small business owners, less than half said they were prepared to prevent cyberattacks. 

Small and medium sized businesses think they are too small to be a target, according to Toby Hung, co-founder and chief operating officer of 1Fort. 

"Everyone's just thinking about what happens when things go south, but no one's actually doing anything to prevent it from going south in the first place," he said.

To address the problem, 1Fort aims to partner with insurance brokers. "We want to be their copilot in helping them better service their clients," Marshi said. "So we also provide brokers with the platform to streamline their cyber placements and to also enable them to differentiate themselves with a unique risk management offering they can provide their clients."

Along with securing funding, 1Fort has support from BrokerTech Ventures Accelerator Program, and recently earned SOC 2 security certification, the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants' standard for managing customer data. 

"You've got to have some level of innovation or some level of difference, to be able to win in the space," said Celent's Macgregor, discussing the cyber insurance market. "Theoretically, provided you're competitive, you should win market share."

This article has been updated from its original version.