Keller Covered is due for an upgrade, and Keller Williams has enlisted property and casualty insurance exchange bolt to help deliver it. The Austin-based franchisor will use bolt’s software as a service (SaaS)-based exchange to expand distribution, product options and home insurance choices for homeowners and homebuyers across the nation.
David Smith | Credit: LinkedIn
“We’re excited to partner with bolt as we continue to rapidly scale Keller Covered into a leading national insurance agency,” Keller Home Financial Services President David Smith said in a prepared statement. “Together with bolt, we will significantly improve the quantity and quality of our insurance products and services and significantly expand on the personalized service and support we offer our KW agents and consumers.”
Keller Covered currently helps homeowners and homebuyers compare home insurance quotes from 25 of the nation’s top insurance providers including MetLife, Travelers, Liberty Mutual, Kemper and Encompass.
Through the partnership, Keller Covered will be able to provide quotes for more residential dwelling types and provide services for commercial clients through its call center as well as provide specific recommendations based on consumer needs.
“Through the partnership with bolt, Keller Covered now offers personal lines of insurance that cover risks for condominiums, dwelling fires, earthquakes, jewelry, motorcycles, pet health, renters, and watercraft,” Keller Covered Director Roberto Gonzalez told Inman in an emailed statement. “Additionally, Keller Covered now offers commercial lines of insurance, [including] commercial auto, business owners policy, errors & omissions, general liability, and worker’s compensation.”
“Keller Covered through its partnership with bolt, is able to now offer expert advice and recommendations on which coverages are best suited for each customer’s needs,” he added. “Consumers can bind any policy and carrier combination by calling the Keller Covered customer care line.”
Both Keller Covered and BOLT Insurance Agency receive compensation based on the premiums for the insurance policies sold, the companies explained.
Bolt Chief Executive Officer Jim Dwane said they’re excited to partner with Keller Williams and bring their virtual-based experience to thousands more Keller Covered consumers. “We’re happy to be a partner for Keller Covered as they continue to expand insurance offerings for their customers,” he said. “Our ability to provide a virtual agency experience for partners outside of the traditional P&C insurance industry is what sets bolt apart.”
Keller Williams has been on a partnership and acquisition run over the past two months, as they aim to bolster the transaction experience for agents and consumers.
In February, Keller Williams announced the acquisition of Philadelphia-based transaction management platform CPros to reduce agents’ pain points in completing listing and transaction administrative tasks. A month later, the franchisor partnered with real estate platform RealNext to launch a desktop and mobile-friendly customer relationship management (CRM) platform tailored for commercial agents and their clients.
“I look at Keller Williams as the Disneyland for the real estate entrepreneur where you can create anything,” Keller Williams President Marc King told Inman in December. “We have a lot of great worthy rivals in our real estate sales space, but we are pushing forward to be the leader, to create our tools, systems, models, technologies that will keep positioning the agent as the fiduciary of the transaction.”
