January 1–16, 2026 (WW1-WW3)

Capital returned to insurance and insurtech decisively in early January. Over $2.5B of disclosed equity, credit, and fundraises flowed into the sector, spanning full-stack carriers, distribution insurgents, risk intelligence, benefits orchestration, and private credit-backed scale plays.

This is not speculative capital. It is structural capital.

The common thread across deals is clear: AI-native operations, incentive realignment, and ownership of risk economics are no longer differentiators—they are prerequisites. InsurTech has entered its second act: fewer ideas, larger checks, higher expectations.

1. CORGI — The Return of the Venture-Backed Carrier

$108M | Full-stack, AI-native carrier | Startups & tech risk

Corgi is the most strategically important investment of the period—not because of its size, but because of its structure.

This is a licensed carrier, not an MGA or tooling layer, with AI embedded across underwriting, claims, and policy lifecycle. That matters.

Why it matters

Capital + license = control. Corgi can price, iterate, and launch new products (e.g., AI liability) without carrier constraints.
Distribution moat via venture networks. YC and VC-channel distribution bypasses brokers entirely for a critical founder segment.
A valuation reset risk. If Corgi proves loss-ratio discipline, it will reset how markets price startup insurance—and what “real” insurtech looks like.

Competitive impact

Traditional specialty carriers serving tech (Hiscox, Hartford, Beazley) face pressure on speed, product agility, and pricing sophistication.
Venture-focused brokers risk disintermediation unless they move upstream into true risk advisory.

Bottom line: Full-stack is back—but only for teams with capital, regulatory stamina, and underwriting discipline.

2. WithCoverage — Commission Economics Under Direct Attack

$42M Series B | Flat-fee commercial brokerage

WithCoverage is not “digitizing brokerage.” It is challenging its incentive structure.

By severing revenue from premium size, WithCoverage reframes the broker’s role from sales intermediary to cost-reduction and risk-optimization partner.

Why it matters

Commission is insurance’s original sin. This is the first venture-scale attempt to remove it.
Tier-1 conviction. Sequoia + Khosla don’t fund marginal model tweaks; they fund structural bets.
Vertical expansion is the test. Construction and aerospace will prove whether the model scales beyond tech-forward buyers.

Competitive impact

Mid-market brokers face margin compression and forced transparency.
Expect incumbents to experiment with fee-based or hybrid pricing—quietly, then rapidly.

Bottom line: Brokerage economics are no longer sacrosanct.

3. SelectQuote — Private Credit Replaces Venture Capital

$415M credit facility | Senior health distribution

SelectQuote’s refinancing is a signal, not a headline.

Choosing long-dated private credit over equity in today’s market says one thing: confidence in cash flow and unit economics.

Why it matters

Runway to 2031 reduces existential risk in a volatile regulatory segment.
Private credit is now growth capital for profitable insurtechs—not just a rescue tool.
Sets a template for scaled distributors avoiding dilution.

Competitive impact

Smaller senior-health platforms without balance-sheet strength will struggle.
Expect accelerated consolidation in Medicare Advantage distribution.

Bottom line: The insurtech survivors are refinancing, not fundraising.

4. Ben — Benefits Orchestration as Infrastructure

$27.5M | Cross-border benefits & insurance platform

Ben sits at the intersection of HR, benefits, insurance, and compliance—a convergence incumbents struggle to own cleanly.

Why it matters

Data aggregation = power. Multi-jurisdiction benefits data creates switching costs brokers can’t match.
Broker-lite future. Advisory becomes optional when orchestration is embedded.
Enterprise wedge. Benefits is the Trojan horse into broader insurance control.

Bottom line: Benefits platforms are quietly becoming insurance platforms.

5. BirdsEyeView — Climate Models Go from Edge Case to Core

Undisclosed (est. $5–10M) | Climate & parametric risk

Climate modeling is no longer a reinsurer-only conversation.

BirdsEyeView’s funding accelerates third-party adoption of wildfire and hazard analytics across primary carriers and MGAs.

Why it matters

Risk pricing is being externalized. Proprietary models lose their edge.
Wildfire underwriting is being standardized—and that reshapes capacity allocation.

Bottom line: Climate intelligence is now table stakes, not a premium feature.

6. Amplify Life — Signal, Not Scale

$6.2M | Digital life & wealth

This is not a category-defining round. It is a persistence signal.

Despite consolidation and pullbacks, investors still fund teams modernizing life insurance—selectively.

Bottom line: Life insurtech isn’t dead; it’s just capital-disciplined.

7. Mega-Funds: The Capital Backdrop

a16z: $15B — AI, fintech, insurtech explicitly prioritized
Warburg Pincus: $3B — Buyouts and scaled platforms

What this means

Capital is abundant—but filtered.
Late-stage and platform-scale winners will be overfunded.
Subscale, undifferentiated insurtechs will starve.

Cross-Deal Themes

Theme	What Changed
Full-stack returns	Owning risk economics matters again
Brokerage unbundles	Pricing incentives are under scrutiny
Private credit rises	Growth without dilution is viable
AI is assumed	No longer a pitch—just infrastructure
Climate risk mainstreamed	Underwriting inputs are standardizing

Forward View: 2026 Is a Sorting Year

Expect 2–3 new AI-native carriers to launch or spin out.
Brokerage will fracture into advisory vs. distribution.
Private credit will fund the winners; M&A will absorb the rest.
AI won’t disrupt insurance—it will reprice it.

The question for incumbents and founders is no longer whether to change, but where to concede control.

On a different note, Scott Adams passed away this week on January 13, 2026. Throughout his career, he brought me countless laughs with his engineering humor and insights into organizational behavior.