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Comeryx, an AI-native managing general agent (MGA) focused on small business artisan contractors, has launched a technology platform designed to automate underwriting, quoting and policy issuance for risks that have traditionally been difficult for insurance brokers to place.
The company has secured capacity from an insurance carrier rated A+ (Superior) by A.M. Best, with a financial size category of XV, the highest category assigned by the rating agency.
- Comeryx has launched an AI-native underwriting platform for small artisan contractors, with insurance capacity provided by an A.M. Best A+ rated carrier in financial size category XV.
- The MGA offers combined commercial general liability and contractors pollution liability coverage, alongside standalone pollution liability insurance, through an automated quoting and policy issuance process.
- Comeryx is appointing Excess & Surplus wholesale brokers ahead of binding coverage this fall, targeting a segment where approximately 50% of submissions receive no response, according to its underwriting analysis.
The capacity supports Comeryx’s combined commercial general liability and contractors pollution liability insurance program for small artisan contractors.
Comeryx will operate on a non-admitted basis and is currently appointing Excess & Surplus (E&S) wholesale brokers, with plans to begin binding coverage this fall.
Comeryx automates underwriting and policy issuance for small contractors
The MGA has developed an end-to-end policy processing system intended to eliminate manual intervention between submission and policy issuance.
Wholesale brokers can submit accounts through email, the Comeryx broker portal or a direct API connection. The platform automatically processes the submission, applies underwriting and pricing rules, and generates a quote that can be bound on the terms presented.
Once coverage is bound, the policy is issued immediately. Comeryx said the system removes much of the administrative back-and-forth traditionally associated with insurance carrier and MGA underwriting processes, allowing brokers to place business that might otherwise be uneconomical to handle.
The company attributes the limited availability of coverage for smaller artisan contractors to the cost of underwriting individual accounts relative to the premiums they generate.
Insurers have historically addressed those economics through higher minimum premiums, additional application requirements, narrower coverage or decisions not to quote certain submissions.
According to Comeryx’s underwriting analysis, approximately 50% of submissions in this segment never receive a response.
“The underlying risk was never the problem. The cost to underwrite it was,” said Dax Craig, Co-Founder and CEO of Comeryx. “We built our technology platform so that a $3,000 account receives the same underwriting discipline as a $30,000 account that is processed in minutes, not days or weeks. The economics of serving small contractor accounts move from negative to positive for wholesale brokers and retail agents.”
General liability and contractors pollution coverage on one policy
Comeryx offers commercial general liability and contractors pollution liability together under a single policy. Contractors pollution liability is also available as a standalone product. Its general liability coverage uses standard Insurance Services Office (ISO) policy forms.
The products are designed to address coverage gaps affecting smaller contractors, particularly where construction projects impose environmental liability requirements.
Comeryx said construction sites increasingly require subcontractors to maintain pollution liability insurance, which standard general liability policies typically exclude.
Contractors unable to obtain the required pollution coverage may consequently be ineligible for projects, regardless of their ability to perform the contracted work.
The MGA aims to address this problem through insurance products combining general liability and environmental protection with an automated underwriting process that reduces the cost of handling smaller accounts.
A+ rated capacity supports Comeryx’s E&S insurance program
The capacity arrangement provides Comeryx with access to an established insurance balance sheet carrying A.M. Best’s A+ (Superior) financial strength rating and XV financial size classification.
For wholesale brokers and their retail agency partners, the agreement places coverage with a capacity provider carrying the rating agency’s highest financial size designation.
Comeryx said the arrangement provides financial backing for future claims obligations and establishes a long-term capacity relationship to support the development of its underwriting business.
The company has not identified the capacity provider in its announcement.
Comeryx combines insurance underwriting and technology experience
Comeryx was established by executives with experience in insurance technology, specialty underwriting and data analytics.
- CEO Dax Craig previously co-founded Pie Insurance and Valen Analytics, both focused on applying technology and analytics to insurance operations.
- Melissa Bernard brings three decades of specialty environmental and casualty underwriting experience, including positions as Environmental Team Lead at CapSpecialty and Freberg Environmental.
- Elad Kolet previously co-founded Lively Hearing and served as its Chief Technology Officer before the company was acquired by GN Hearing.
- Matt Frazier previously held the position of Chief Analytics Officer at Pie Insurance and Chief Scoring Officer at Valen Analytics.
- Oleg Illichev, Founder Managing Partner at Altai Ventures, said the combination of Craig’s insurance technology experience and AI-native infrastructure was central to the company’s approach.
“What drew us to Comeryx was Dax’s track record in building tech-enabled small business insurance companies, paired with what AI-native infrastructure now makes possible,” Illichev said.
Together, they finally solve the paradox of the small artisan contractor account: hard enough to underwrite properly that it demands real analytical work, yet too small in premium to pay for that work under a manual process. Comeryx is what becomes possible when the architecture is built for that problem from the start.
Comeryx is initially concentrating on E&S wholesale distribution, with broker appointments underway ahead of the planned start of binding coverage this fall.
