Updated November 2026
An insurtech startup should usually hire an underwriting or insurance product lead first, then a compliance and licensing owner, then claims operations, with a capacity partnerships lead early if you run an MGA. The order depends on how much insurance risk you carry: a software vendor to insurers needs domain depth in product, an MGA needs an underwriter carriers will trust, and a full-stack carrier needs actuarial and regulatory people before almost anyone else.
Two insurtech founders can solve the same customer problem and need completely different first five hires. What separates them is where the insurance risk sits, and who gets held to account when a claim goes badly.
A vendor sells software to insurers and carries no risk, so it hires like vertical SaaS with a slow, demanding buyer. An MGA writes policies on behalf of a carrier under delegated authority, so it needs people a carrier will let hold its pen. A full-stack carrier holds the risk itself, so its earliest hires are the people a regulator will want to meet.
After the founding engineers, hire an insurance product lead who has worked inside a carrier or MGA and knows how policy administration, rating and claims systems fit together. Next comes an implementation engineer, because every insurer integration is long and slightly different. An underwriter is useful as an advisor, not on payroll.
The underwriting lead comes first, ideally someone who has written the exact class you plan to write, because carriers grant capacity to a track record far more readily than to a deck. The capacity partnerships lead follows, then a compliance and licensing owner. Claims can start with a third-party administrator (TPA) if someone in-house owns the oversight.
Actuarial and regulatory hires lead. Regulators look closely at capital, reserving and the people in key control functions, whether under Solvency II in the EU, its UK equivalent or a US state insurance department. Check the requirements with your lawyer and regulator, then hire to them.
For an MGA, the carrier's due diligence is effectively your first hiring plan. Each question lands on a specific person, and if that seat is empty a founder answers it, usually less convincingly.
Engineering barely features. To a carrier your software is mainly a source of clean data, so a data engineer often comes before a second product engineer.
Ask underwriters about loss ratios on books they wrote and what they declined. One who only talks about growth will worry a carrier.
For claims, hire someone who has audited a TPA as well as handled files, since oversight is the first year's job. Engineers need comfort with messy reference data and versioned rating rules more than insurance knowledge (see hiring a data engineer). If you collect premiums yourself, the fintech hiring playbook is a useful neighbour.
Illustrative, swap in your own timings. Two founders (one technical, one from commercial insurance), two engineers, selling small business cover through brokers and online, with a carrier in late-stage talks.
| When | Hire | Why at this point |
|---|---|---|
| Months 0 to 2 | Underwriting lead for small commercial | Carriers back a person first. This is the name on the pitch. |
| Months 1 to 4 | Capacity and distribution partnerships lead | Runs the carrier search, then the broker panel. |
| Months 3 to 5 | Compliance and licensing owner | Licensing, conduct rules and complaints before the first policy is bound. |
| Months 4 to 6 | Fractional actuary (contract) | First rating model with the underwriter. Full-time can wait. |
| Months 6 to 9 | Data engineer | Bordereaux and loss data the carrier reviews monthly. |
| Months 9 to 12 | Claims operations manager | Audits the TPA and owns the policyholder claims experience. |
| Months 12 to 18 | Second underwriter, then broker account managers | Volume now depends on quote turnaround. |
The underwriter is hired before capacity is signed, because the hire is what gets it signed. Actuarial work stays fractional until there is real loss data.
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It depends on the risk you carry. A software vendor hires an insurance product lead, an MGA an underwriting lead with a record in its class, and a full-stack carrier actuarial and regulatory people.
Usually not. A fractional actuary can build the first rating model with your underwriter. Hire full-time once the book produces enough loss data to keep them busy.
Many MGAs start with a third-party administrator. You still need someone in-house who audits its files, because the carrier holds you responsible.
A compliance and licensing owner, hired before an MGA or carrier binds its first policy. Rules vary by market, so confirm them with your lawyer or regulator.
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