Ep. 281: Ty Harris: A Streamlined, Digital Approach for Home Insurance

Spot On Insurance

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Ty Harris is the CEO & Co-Founder of Openly, an insurance company that provides premium homeowners insurance products. They have a unique, cutting-edge platform for independent agents that allows them to obtain a quote in just 15 seconds. Before starting Openly, Ty was part of Liberty Mutual Insurance for over 12 years, with eight years as Vice President of various departments. At Liberty, he led multiple pricing, product, innovation, and underwriting programs. He is also a fully-credentialed actuary.

Ty joins us to describe how Openly distinguishes itself from competitors and how its system can produce quotes in 15 seconds. He shares his thoughts on flights, his passion for debates, and why he founded Openly. He explains the difficulties of finding your first investor and how it gets more accessible. He discusses how COVID-19 has shifted various industries to adopt hybrid working conditions and its effects on commercial spaces. Ty also explains why they built their platform for agents even though both consumers and agents can use it.

"I want to minimize the number of times a human being has to go out and see a claim and disturb the customer as part of it." - Ty Harris

Today on Spot On Insurance:

• Ty's thoughts on the current price of flights
• Ty's passion for debates and how he raises his kids
• When Ty gravitated toward being an entrepreneur
• The reason Ty started Openly
• Ty's career before he founded Openly
• What was lacking in the homeowner's market?
• Openly's remote-first approach to work
• How they managed their funding when they were starting the company
• How commercial spaces are being turned into residential units
• The future of dog insurance and claims
• The agent experience on the Openly platform
• Why they are agent-centric as a company

Key Takeaways:

• If you're not careful, you can end up with coverage that doesn't cover certain exposures.
• Finding the first investor is always the hardest in starting a company.

Connect with Ty Harris:

• Openly
• Ty Harris on LinkedIn

This episode was brought to you by…..

Insurance Licensing Services of America (ILSA), America’s Premier Insurance Compliance and Licensing experts. To learn more about ILSA and their services, visit ILSAinc.com.

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