Bunker, a startup broker focused on independent contractors and small businesses, has raised $6 million in Series A funding that will help fuel product development and expansion. Hiscox and American Family are among the backers.

Omidyar Network, a venture capital firm focused on mission-oriented companies, led the round. New and previous investors including Comcast Ventures and Route 66 Ventures also participated, along with Hiscox and American Family. Additionally, Omidyar Network’s Rob Veres has joined Bunker’s board of directors.

Bunker disclosed a $2 million seed funding round in June, co-led by Comcast Ventures and Router 66 Ventures, and Hiscox and American Family’s venture arms also participated in the round.

Plans call for using the cash infusion “to create new and specialized insurance products for our customers, in addition to accelerating platform features and growth,” Bunker co-founder and CEO Chad Nitschke told Carrier Management via email.

As well, the company will add staff to its San Francisco and Madison, WI-based officers. Such staff will “share our passion for solving small business insurance problems in a truly unique way,” Nitschke added. (Bunker’s headquarters is in San Francisco.)

Bunker disclosed the beta launch of its first product last October. The company’s free digital platform is what Bunker bills as the first contract-related insurance marketplace, enabling it to deliver the exact business insurance policies at the moment they’re needed.

It’s targeted toward helping businesses better understand how to link insurance requirements for independent contracts, suppliers and partners to the financial exposure. The company’s technology is also designed to make it easier for gig workers, contractors and small businesses to be able to provide the required insurance products they need in an affordable way. According to Bunker, the platform is structured to help simplify communication and management of complicated insurance requirements, even for insurance products not purchased through the platform.

In October, Nitschke described Bunker as “a modern digital broker/MGA …. That is hidden behind an enterprise Saas [Software as a Service] platform which automates the management of the insurance requirement process.”

Bunker, through its wholly owned subsidiary Bunker Protect Inc., is a licensed insurance broker in all 50 states. It also works with major insurance carriers “in building new and unique products,” the company said.

Source: Bunker