Buckle, an insurer for ridesharing platforms with coverage in 47 US states, raises $31M Series A led by HSCM Bermuda and Eos
Steve Evans / ReinsuranceNe.ws :
Context & Ripple Effects
Buckle's $31M Series A lands mid-wave in a run of insurtech funding rounds that includes Hippo's satellite-and-sensor-driven $70M Series C in 2018 and The Zebra's $38.5M Series C earlier the same year, both attacking insurance distribution from different angles.
What distinguishes Buckle is its niche: rather than selling direct to consumers or comparing policies, it underwrites for ridesharing platforms themselves across 47 states, with lead investor HSCM Bermuda bringing reinsurance-side capital. The round set up the company's later $60M Series B led by Volery Capital Partners, which extended the model into credit plus insurance for ridesharing and delivery drivers.
First-order effects
- Buckle gains the balance sheet to scale rideshare-platform coverage across its 47-state footprint, giving gig drivers access to bundled credit and insurance products built for their work.
Second-order effects
- Ridesharing platforms now have a purpose-built carrier option, pressuring generalist insurers and comparison players like The Zebra to decide whether gig coverage is a segment to serve or cede.
- Bermuda-based capital taking a lead role signals that specialty MGA-style carriers are becoming an investable asset class alongside traditional venture-backed distribution plays like bolttech's platform-for-partnerships model.
Third-order effects
- If the pattern holds, insurance for gig-economy workers consolidates around vertically focused carriers backed by reinsurance capital, while Bermuda's role widens beyond retrocession into primary innovation risk — a path later echoed by Bermuda-regulated ventures such as the bitcoin life insurer funded by Apollo and Bain Capital.
The trend: Specialty insurers targeting gig-work platforms are pulling in Bermuda reinsurance capital and successive venture rounds, embedding coverage directly into the platforms where gig workers earn.