Despite challenges, the trucking industry has seen improvements in operational efficiencies and enhanced driver safety through technology adoption. However, insurance costs are rising as a result of nuclear verdicts and increased repair expenses.
Yet, logistics professionals and technology experts believe that by leveraging telematics and operational data, insurance costs can be lowered and can become more competitive.
This is the thesis behind trucking insurance startup LuckyTruck, a commercial trucking retail insurance agent that uses historical truck data and automation in its platform to provide one place for carriers to purchase and manage their insurance functions.
The company announced it has appointed Will Urban to its board of directors to help manage top and bottom-line growth at LuckyTruck.
“LuckyTruck has the right go-to-market strategy in place already. They have been focused on product and service execution, which has poised them for growth,” Urban told FreightWaves. “They have a great sales leader, and their CEO, Julie Zimmer, knows how to sell and is a very compelling person to listen to in this space. I am certainly going to leverage my network to get folks I think would benefit from the LuckyTruck service offering.”
Before joining the company’s board, Urban spent 30 years contributing to the logistics industry at several legacy companies, including 25 years at Expeditors. He most recently led growth strategies at technology-enabled freight forwarder Flexport as the company’s chief revenue officer.
Urban currently advises several FreightTech companies —Matternet and BorderBuddy— and holds venture partner roles at r7 and Companyon Ventures.
“Working with literally hundreds of trucking companies or large importers that have their dedicated fleets over the years, I understand the challenges they face. Not just for insurance, but the overall landscape in terms of managing their businesses. Running a successful trucking company and/or fleet is extremely challenging,” Urban said of the current industry obstacles.
With all these challenges in mind, Urban believes the right technology solution can make the insurance landscape less disheartening for carriers.
“I think it’s all about driving down the cost to serve in all aspects of the supply chain, insurance being one of them. … Obtaining pricing and understanding insurance is difficult and daunting. LuckyTruck can help its customers do that by using tech to streamline and democratize the process and give the smaller guys a competitive advantage,” said Urban.
According to its website, LuckyTruck is currently serving more than 700 customers on its platform.
In April 2022, the company raised $2.5 million of seed funding in a deal led by Candid Insurance Investors with participation from SiriusPoint, Markd, Draper University and Blue Trail Partners. It has raised a total of $6.5 million since being founded in 2019.
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