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A group of industry veterans have launched a Charlotte insurance technology startup following the close of a $3 million seed round.
The company, Modives, was formed earlier this year and now has five executives with decades of combined experience in the insurance space on its leadership team. It uses an automated tech platform to help eliminate manual and time-consuming insurance verification processes for property managers and auto dealers.
Leading the startup is Frederick Waite, CEO and co-founder. He said the long process of verifying insurance for rental property managers and car sales professionals can "negatively impact the customer experience."
"It’s an important — and legally required — step before a car leaves the lot and a tenant moves into a property, but verification hasn’t evolved in decades," he said in a statement. "Simply presenting a declaration page or policy ID card is not proof that insurance is in force. That’s a problem we’re solving."
Waite, a veteran entrepreneur, started Modives after retiring in June as CEO of global manufacturing company Baler and Compact Equipment (BACE). That company was acquired by private equity platform ONCAP in 2021. He patented the IntelliBACE platform.
He also created BCF, a software platform acquired by Vertafore in 2006. Additionally, Waite served as CEO and founder of analytics platform Yodil Inc., which was bought by Duck Creek Technologies in 2016.
Waite brought on four other executives in the insurance space to round out his leadership team.
Justin Silver joined Modives as chief revenue officer. He co-founded Yodil with Waite prior to its acquisition by Duck Creek. Silver stayed at Yodil during its acquisition integration and to oversee the company's global solutions consulting and engineering team.
“Property owners and managers, as well as auto dealers, will reduce time and costs while staying in compliance with current data laws and regulations," Silver said in a statement. "And most importantly, their consumers get a far better and safer insurance verification process. Modives makes the insurance verification process painless for the auto dealerships, property management and customers."
Russel Barner — who has expertise in financial technology, banking, real estate and aerospace — serves as chief product officer at the new insurtech startup. Prior to Modives, he led services teams at DealCloud through its acquisition by Intapp in 2018. He also worked in various roles at Intapp through its IPO in 2021.
Modives hired Joel Samen as chief marketing officer. He helped build Liberty Mutual's digital media buying and analytics organization. Samen also oversaw marketing and sales operations at MediaAlpha, one of the leading marketplaces for connecting insurance carriers with lead generators.
Completing the leadership team is Bhopan Krishnan, Modives' chief technology officer. He joined the startup with more than 25 years of insurtech experience. Prior to Modives, he founded Outline Systems, a distribution management and compliance software for the insurance industry. Outline was bought in 2018 by Duck Creek, where Krishnan led the engineering team after the acquisition.