What Hedge does

Hedge Specialty, operating as Taven Insurance Services LLC, is a wholesale surplus lines insurance broker that places hard-to-place risks on behalf of U.S. retail insurance agents and agencies. The firm spans 11 product lines across property and casualty, professional liability, executive lines, and specialty classes (commercial property, general and excess liability, inland marine, commercial auto, product liability, cyber and tech E&O, miscellaneous professional E&O, medical malpractice, D&O, employment practices, and environmental), drawing on 30+ carrier relationships spanning admitted, non-admitted, Lloyd's Syndicates, and specialty MGAs covering 45 classes of E&S business. The company's service model centers on named broker continuity from intake through bind, a 30-minute median first response time, curated market placement rather than spray-and-pray submissions, and a real-time shared file note replacing status-email ping-pong.

The underlying technology stack is notably thin: there is no proprietary platform, no API or SDK, no mobile application, and submissions are received via email, ACORD forms, and a web submission form, with file management handled manually. The "AI-powered" positioning in the firmographic description is not supported by any disclosed AI/ML capability, model, data asset, or hire. Revenue is earned primarily as carrier-paid commission on placed premium, supplemented in some specialty placements by disclosed broker fees, with all compensation revealed in writing to the retail agent before binding. Hedge is pursuing 50-state surplus lines broker licensure (currently holding California resident license #6018729 with 49 non-resident filings in progress), maintains SOC 2 Type II certification, and operates from a single San Francisco office with 1-10 employees and a seed capital base of $500,000 raised from Y Combinator and Founder Factor in May 2026.

Name

Hedge

Legal name

Taven Insurance Services LLC dba Hedge Specialty

Website

https://hedgespecialty.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2026

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Hedge Specialty is a wholesale surplus lines insurance broker placing hard-to-place risks for U.S. retail agents across 11 E&S lines and 30+ carrier markets. The firm earns carrier commissions, operates without proprietary technology, and competes on named broker relationships and rapid turnaround.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

San Francisco

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Commission from Carriers: Hedge's primary compensation is a percentage commission paid by placing carriers out of premium. This is the standard wholesale broker compensation model where the carrier pays the broker for placing the risk.
2. Broker Fees: In some specialty placements, particularly manuscript or structured programs, Hedge may charge a broker fee in addition to or instead of commission. All fees are disclosed in writing to the retail agent before binding.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Hedge is a wholesale surplus lines insurance broker that places hard-to-place specialty and E&S risks on behalf of retail insurance agents and agencies. The company offers 11 distinct product lines across Property & Casualty, Professional, Executive, and Specialty categories, accessing 30+ admitted, non-admitted, Lloyd's Syndicates, and specialty MGA markets. Hedge does not issue policies or hold binding authority; it acts as intermediary, earning carrier-paid commissions and disclosed broker fees.

Product overview

Hedge is a wholesale surplus lines insurance broker that places hard-to-place risks for retail agents. The company operates as a specialty placement shop offering 11 distinct insurance product lines across Property & Casualty (Commercial Property, General & Excess Liability, Inland Marine, Commercial Auto, Product Liability), Professional (Cyber & Tech E&O, Miscellaneous E&O, Medical Malpractice), Executive (Management Liability, Employment Practices), and Specialty (Environmental & Pollution) categories. Hedge does not issue policies or hold binding authority but acts as a wholesale broker placing risks with admitted, non-admitted, Lloyd's, and specialty MGA markets. The service model emphasizes named broker contacts, real-time file status, and rapid turnaround (30-minute median first response) for retail agency submissions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Commercial Property Surplus lines commercial property coverage for retail insurance agents, including catastrophe-exposed and coastal properties, with limits from $1M to $100M or higher.
• General & Excess Liability Commercial general liability and excess liability coverage with limits ranging from $1M to $100M for retail agency submissions.
• Inland Marine Coverage for builder's risk and cargo exposures, including equipment and transit-related risks for retail agency submissions.
• Commercial Auto Fleet and trucking insurance coverage for commercial vehicle operations placed via retail agency submissions.
• Cyber & Tech E&O Cyber liability and technology errors and omissions coverage, including distressed risks, with limits up to $5M/$5M for retail agency submissions.
• Management Liability Directors and officers (D&O) and management liability coverage for private and public companies placed via retail agency submissions.
• Employment Practices Liability Employment practices liability coverage for retail agency submissions, currently focused on California risks.
• Environmental & Pollution Environmental liability coverage for both onshore and offshore exposures placed via retail agency submissions.
• Medical Malpractice Medical malpractice coverage for allied health practitioners, outpatient surgery centers, telehealth, medspas, and small specialty groups, with limits up to $1M/$3M, placed via retail agency submissions.
• Miscellaneous E&O Professional liability coverage for consultants, staffing agencies, franchisors, coaches, and other thin-file or first-time buyers, placed via retail agency submissions.
• Product Liability Product liability coverage for manufacturers, importers, and direct sellers including cosmetics, electronics, and sporting goods, with product recall expense coverage up to $5M, placed via retail agency submissions.
• Wholesale Broker Appointment Program Formal appointment program through which retail insurance agencies apply to become wholesale partners, gaining access to Hedge's 30+ specialty markets, dedicated broker service, and fast turnaround. Expanding licensing to all 50 U.S. states.
• Appetite Checker Tool Online tool that lets retail agents pick a class and a state to determine whether Hedge will write the risk (yes, edge, or no). Covers 45 classes of business.
• Submission Portal Online submission form with real-time draft saving and guided submission workflow that allows retail agents to submit risks to Hedge via web in addition to email and ACORD forms.

Quantifiable outcome

• Median first response time of 30 minutes
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Carriers (Unnamed)coreOthersHedge works with 30+ insurance markets including admitted, non-admitted, Lloyd's Syndicates, and specialty MGAs to place hard-to-place risks for retail agents. Specific carrier names are not disclosed on the website.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• USI Insurance Services: Top-10 US insurance brokerage with significant specialty and wholesale practice. Competes with Hedge for retail agent and direct-broker specialty placements across property, casualty, and professional lines.
• Alliant Insurance Services: Large national specialty broker with retail, wholesale, and MGA capabilities. While broader in scope than Hedge, Alliant's specialty division competes directly in E&S placement for retail-agent-sourced hard-to-place risks.
• Munich Re Specialty: Global reinsurer's specialty insurance division offering wholesale capacity through Lloyd's, MGA, and binding authority channels. Overlaps with Hedge as a placement destination for hard-to-place specialty risks sourced from retail agents.

Direct peers

• Brown & Riding: National wholesale insurance broker focused exclusively on specialty and excess & surplus lines. Closely comparable to Hedge's hard-to-place risk focus, retail-agent-only distribution model, and broad class-of-business coverage.
• RPS (Risk Placement Services): One of the largest US wholesale brokers and managing general agents, placing specialty and E&S risks on behalf of retail agents. Directly comparable to Hedge in market role, customer base (retail agencies), and product breadth across property, casualty, and professional lines.
• Amwins: Specialty insurance distributor with wholesale brokerage, MGA, and reinsurance capabilities. A scaled direct peer in the E&S wholesale space with comparable retail-agent-facing distribution and multi-class specialty placements.
• Burns & Wilcox: Major specialty wholesale insurance broker with deep expertise in surplus lines placements and hard-to-place risks. Highly comparable to Hedge in serving retail agents seeking E&S market access for complex accounts.
• CRC Insurance Services: Large national wholesale broker and MGA focused on specialty and excess & surplus lines. Direct competitor to Hedge in the wholesale placement channel, with overlapping classes of business including property, casualty, and professional lines.

Regional players

• Reliance Partners: Wholesale and retail broker with concentration in transportation and commercial trucking — a class Hedge explicitly serves via its Commercial Auto line. Comparable in segment focus but with a more regional, transportation-weighted footprint.

Emerging players

• Coterie Insurance: Insurtech MGA focused on small commercial and specialty lines with a tech-driven platform. Comparable to Hedge as an emerging technology-enabled player in the specialty insurance space, though Coterie focuses more on direct small-business binding than wholesale placement.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat2 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

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 Hedge