The investment was led by Costanoa Ventures from Palo Alto, California, with contributions from Intact Ventures, Era Ventures, Greenlight Re, and Spark Capital.
Shepherd introduces Shepherd Compliance, an AI-powered software available to customers at no charge. This innovative solution combines insurance offerings with cutting-edge software to assist contractors in reducing premiums. The company plans to utilize the funds to bolster its underwriting and software teams, expedite product development, and expand its software portfolio.
Justin Levine, CEO of Shepherd, highlighted the pressing need for innovation in the commercial construction insurance sector.. He said: “There is an urgent need for innovation in the commercial construction insurance industry. Our mission at Shepherd is ambitious but simple: to create the first comprehensive platform that combines top-tier insurance offerings with world-class software to help commercial businesses manage risk and prevent losses.”
Shepherd’s offering merges insurance capacity with swift underwriting, risk management software, and a construction software marketplace, streamlining cumbersome processes and workflows. With an average response time of 12 hours, the company’s technology-enabled underwriting process significantly outpaces industry standards.
The commercial construction industry faces challenges such as escalating claim severity, outdated underwriting processes, and a lack of technology adoption, threatening the sustainability of insurance in the sector. Shepherd warns that without significant innovation, the $10 trillion commercial construction industry could become uninsurable.
In response to these challenges, Shepherd is launching Shepherd Compliance, a software solution designed to automate and streamline vendor compliance reviews. This crucial process, essential for large businesses validating coverage from downstream vendors on each project, is prone to errors and inefficiencies. Shepherd Compliance leverages artificial intelligence to review PDF-based data and automate related workflows, ensuring seamless integration with existing project management platforms like Procore.
Shepherd’s Series A funding and the launch of Shepherd Compliance mark significant milestones in the company’s mission to revolutionize the commercial construction insurance landscape, offering tailored solutions to industry challenges.
“Commercial construction is a central and vital driver to the overall economy, yet has been overlooked by technology providers for years,” comments Mark Selcow, general partner, Costanoa Ventures. “High insurance costs and even unavailability of coverage plagues a sector already struggling with tight margins and business risk. The team behind Shepherd is taking a technology-forward approach, developing innovative insurance products that use modern software and data techniques to create a vastly superior insurance offering. Shepherd delivers better priced, better fit policies for clients, thanks to its data and tech advantages.”
