Matt Heffernan, Co-Founder and Joe Bauer, Co-Founder Back in 2016, Matt Heffernan and Joe Bauer were working together at an Indianapolis-based boutique consultancy when they came across a peculiar predicament. “We were reviewing the account of an organization struggling to manage their insurable assets effectively, and as we were getting them prepared for their insurance renewal, we discovered that their internal auto fleet list didn’t match the records being kept by their broker,” says Bauer. After digging further, Heffernan and Bauer discovered the full extent of the problem. “In addition to one truck that had been on the road for several months with no insurance, they also had several vehicles listed on the active schedule that had been sold off years prior,” states Bauer. Although there were thankfully no significant repercussions involved, the scenario presented an opportunity for Heffernan and Bauer to embrace technology to ensure that the insurance industry doesn’t have to continue its reliance on archaic and siloed processes.
Relying on their combined 10 years of experience in the insurance industry, the duo set out with an ambitious goal to create a single source of 100 percent accurate information for stakeholders to maintain a business’s risk profile in real-time. The result? Heffernan and Bauer co-founded Swivyl in 2017.
Delivered as an online platform, Swivyl allows property and casualty insurance brokers to better communicate and collaborate with their customers. It ensures that mismatched internal spreadsheets, mismanaged assets, miscommunications, and stressful renewal periods are now a thing of the past.
40 percent of the average broker's time is spent on administrative tasks. That’s unacceptable to us
The platform enables brokers to deliver the best possible level of service by ensuring live and accurate client information, resulting in smoother renewals and happier insured clients.
Developed as the ‘Turbotax’ of building and maintaining corporate insurance risk profiles, as Bauer describes it, the Swivyl platform works seamlessly. Once customers login to the platform, they are guided through a customized questionnaire based on the industry that they represent. This helps them in building their risk profile in real-time and helps the insurance industry to determine the risk involved in offering insurance to different organizations. After the end user is guided through the process, this information goes live on the front-end.
The Swivyl platform also alleviates stress involved in renewal periods, allowing brokers and businesses to focus on risk management for the coming year, rather than wasting valuable time on paperwork and signature collecting. “40 percent of the average broker's time is spent on administrative tasks. That’s unacceptable to us. We aim to give that time back so that they can spend it on things they would rather be doing, like generating revenue and acting as an expert advisor to their clientele,” adds Bauer.
What really differentiates Swivyl from other vendors in the market is their focus on empowerment over disruption. “From our experience in the insurance industry, we believe that there is no single piece of technology that will ever provide the level of service that a business receives from an engaged broker who is positioned to act as an advocate and advisor,” informs Bauer. Swivyl aims to be the tool that the insurance industry needs right now to empower brokers to perform at a level higher than ever before.
