Fudge Insurance

What Fudge Insurance does

Fudge Insurance is an independent insurance agency headquartered in Winter Park, Florida, founded in 2006 by Doug Fudge and his father Paul Fudge. The agency specializes in insurance for short-term rental property owners, vacation and second-home owners, primary residence homeowners, landlords, business owners, and foreign investors purchasing US property, serving 20,000+ customers across all 50 US states and 75+ countries. Core verticals are concentrated in Florida, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Arizona, with particular depth in the short-term rental niche that the firm has cultivated for 15+ years.

The product portfolio spans short-term rental insurance (flagship), homeowners, long-term rental, business (property, commercial auto, general liability, workers' comp), life, flood (NFIP and private), condo (HO6), umbrella, cyber liability, and ancillary personal lines. A differentiated proprietary offering is the Accidental Damage Waiver (ADW), a security-deposit alternative for vacation rental property managers developed with partner First Flight Insurance and supported by the MyFudge ADW self-service portal. Technology infrastructure is primarily workflow automation, including a multi-step online quote system covering all 50 states, automated ADW claims intake with 7-day filing windows, and email-based portal sign-in. There is no disclosed AI/ML capability, proprietary model, or platform architecture beyond standard agency tooling.

The business operates on insurance carrier commissions as an independent agency representing multiple carriers. Pricing is quote-based for most lines, with the ADW product using unit pricing per booking ($13.50–$40.00). Go-to-market is sales-led and heavily referral-driven (75% of business), supplemented by content marketing (blog, SEO location pages for TN/NC/AZ/FL), social media, property manager partnerships (notably Vacasa), and international real estate events (Place In The Sun Live in the UK). The company is founder-owned with no institutional external investment, three named executives (CEO, CFO, CTO), and headcount estimated at 11-50.

Name

Fudge Insurance

Legal name

Fudge Insurance

Website

https://fudgeinsurance.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Fudge Insurance is an independent insurance agency in Winter Park, Florida, founded in 2006, specializing in short-term rental, vacation home, and property insurance for individual owners, landlords, and property managers across the US and 75+ countries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Winter Park

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Insurance Commissions: As an independent insurance agency, Fudge Insurance earns commissions from insurance carriers for policies placed. The agency represents multiple insurance companies and helps customers find coverage that fits their needs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Fudge Insurance is an independent insurance agency that places personal and commercial insurance policies on behalf of its customers with multiple carrier partners, specializing in short-term rental and vacation home coverage. It also offers a proprietary Accidental Damage Waiver (ADW) security-deposit alternative product for vacation rental property managers, co-designed with First Flight Insurance, supported by an automated claims portal (MyFudge ADW).

Product overview

Fudge Insurance is an independent insurance agency offering a comprehensive portfolio of insurance products primarily focused on property and rental insurance. The company operates as a single agency with multiple product lines rather than a platform-plus-modules architecture. Core offerings include Short Term Rental Insurance (their specialty), Homeowners Insurance, Business Insurance, Life Insurance, Flood Insurance, and an Accidental Damage Waiver (ADW) product for vacation rental property managers. Additional products include Long-term Rental Insurance, Portfolio-level Insurance Services, Condo Insurance (HO6), Umbrella Insurance, Cyber Liability Insurance, Renters Insurance, Gap Insurance, Boat & Watercraft Insurance, RV Insurance, and Motorcycle Insurance. The company serves clients across all 50 US states with particular expertise in Florida, Tennessee, and North Carolina vacation rental markets, and maintains a self-service portal (MyFudge ADW) for ADW policy management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Short Term Rental Insurance Specialized insurance coverage for short-term rental properties covering unique risks of property damage, liability, and contents when homes are rented to guests on platforms such as Airbnb and VRBO. Available across Florida, Tennessee, and North Carolina; the agency's primary specialty built over 15+ years.
• Homeowners Insurance Coverage for primary residences against property damage, contents loss, and personal liability. Available in all 50 US states.
• Business Insurance Comprehensive business coverage including commercial property, commercial auto, general and professional liability, and workers compensation for business owners.
• Long-term Rental Insurance Insurance for rental properties with long-term tenants (6+ month leases), distinct from standard homeowners policies and providing landlord liability, tenant-caused damage, and loss of rental income coverage.
• Portfolio-level Insurance Services Specialty coordinated insurance programs for developers, property managers, and investors managing large portfolios of rental properties, spanning property, liability, workers compensation, and related coverages.
• Life Insurance Term life, whole life, and guaranteed issue life insurance for individuals and businesses, sold through a non-commissioned advisory team to support income replacement, estate planning, and business succession.
• Flood Insurance Flood insurance through National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP) policies and private market options, including endorsements to homeowners coverage.
• Accidental Damage Waiver (ADW) Security-deposit alternative for vacation rental property managers, providing $1,500, $3,000, or $5,000 per-incident damage coverage with $0 deductible and automated claims processing through the MyFudge ADW portal. Sold via unit pricing per booking.
• Condo Insurance (HO6) Coverage for condo interiors from the drywall inward — including flooring, fixtures, cabinets, and personal property — designed to work alongside the condo association's master policy.
• Umbrella Insurance Excess liability coverage of $1,000,000 to $5,000,000 supplementing existing auto, boat, RV, or home policies to protect assets from major litigation.
• Cyber Liability Insurance Coverage protecting businesses from data breaches, network security issues, customer notification costs, and credit monitoring expenses.
• Renters Insurance Insurance covering tenants' personal possessions, personal liability, and additional living expenses.
• Gap Insurance Auto insurance coverage that pays the difference between the outstanding loan/lease balance and the actual cash value of a totaled vehicle.
• Boat & Watercraft Insurance Insurance coverage for boats and other watercraft vessels.
• RV Insurance Insurance coverage for recreational vehicles.
• Motorcycle Insurance Insurance coverage for motorcycles.
• MyFudge ADW Portal Customer self-service portal hosted at my.fudgeadw.com where property managers manage Accidental Damage Waiver policies and file claims via an automated workflow with email-based sign-in.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4.9-star Google rating
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments8 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• First Flight InsurancecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFudge Insurance partnered with First Flight Insurance to custom-design the premier vacation home security deposit alternative (Accidental Damage Waiver program) for property managers. First Flight has helped millions of consumers manage risk and uncertainty with innovative insurance and protection products.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Lemonade: Lemonade is a digital-first insurance carrier using AI-driven underwriting; represents an emerging insurtech competitor targeting the same property insurance customer base with a more direct-to-consumer model.
• Hippo Insurance: Hippo is a tech-enabled home insurance provider focused on homeowners and high-value properties, overlapping with Fudge's homeowner and vacation home coverage markets via a direct-to-consumer digital approach.
• AirCover (by Airbnb): AirCover is Airbnb's built-in host damage protection product, representing an emerging platform-embedded insurance offering that competes with Fudge's ADW and short-term rental insurance products for the same property managers and hosts.

Direct peers

• Proper Insurance: Proper Insurance is a leading direct specialty provider of short-term and vacation rental insurance, closely matching Fudge Insurance's core niche and target customer base of Airbnb/VRBO property owners.
• Goosehead Insurance: Goosehead operates an independent insurance agency franchise model with a technology-enabled platform, directly comparable to Fudge's independent agency model with multi-carrier access.

Broad incumbents

• Arthur J. Gallagher & Co. Gallagher is a major global insurance brokerage and risk management firm, representing a broad incumbent that competes for commercial property and casualty accounts Fudge also targets.
• Marsh McLennan: Marsh is one of the largest global insurance brokers and risk advisors, competing with Fudge in the commercial insurance segment and for property manager/portfolio clients.
• Brown & Riding Insurance Services: Brown & Riding is a national wholesale insurance brokerage serving retail agents like Fudge on specialty and complex property/casualty placements, operating as both a partner and an indirect competitor.
• Aon: Aon is a global professional services firm offering insurance brokerage and risk management, competing with Fudge for larger commercial property and portfolio accounts.

Others

• Vacasa: Vacasa is a major vacation rental property management company that refers its homeowner clients to Fudge Insurance. As a key distribution partner and dominant platform in Fudge's core market, Vacasa's strategic direction directly impacts Fudge's customer pipeline.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/fudgeinsurance
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fudge-insurance
• Instagraminstagram.com/fudgeinsurance
• Xx.com/FudgeInsurance

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Fudge Insurance