Home Insurance Needed Disruption. One Entrepreneur Was Ready.

When most people think of home and auto insurance companies, they think of boring decades-old businesses— and they wouldn’t be wrong. So, when John Chu, an insurance industry veteran, started considering what he wanted to do before he retired, he decided to try to disrupt the industry he had spent three decades working in.

In 2018, Chu launched Bamboo Insurance, a company that, unlike others in the space, uses sophisticated technology to underwrite and price more accurately. While most home insurers collect five or six pieces of basic data, Bamboo ingests significantly more, including the condition of the roof, the life of the heating system, the quality of the cabinetry, and much more. “We’re better at matching the risk to the price,” he says.

This is key to Bamboo’s success: Many insurers get in trouble when rates are inadequate, and losses paid are greater than premiums earned. With more detailed information and greater pricing sophistication, Bamboo looks to ensure all policies are priced adequately for the risk taken over the long term. “I just knew that the homeowners space was ripe for change,” Chu says.

Strategic partnerships

By 2023, Bamboo had $250 million of premium in force—a figure he expects to double by the end of 2024. The bulk of Bamboo’s business stems from homeowners policies in California, but it also offers auto and renters insurance through its internal agency and aims to expand into other states in 2025.

The company also has found success partnering with other insurance providers, leveraging innovative technology and an easy-to-use platform Chu developed. Some of the largest name-brand insurers—businesses Chu had developed relationships with during his many years in the insurance sector—all jumped at the chance to work with him. They sell Bamboo’s policies through their own agents, using the company’s technology to determine pricing.

Long-term focus

Chu has always taken a long-term attitude toward Bamboo. While he could have sold policies for cheap and grown the company even faster, he wanted to create a profitable business with a solid foundation. In 2023 White Mountains Insurance Group invested $297 million for a 73 percent stake.

The deal opened doors to new markets and customers, he says, but also proved that Chu’s strategy of long-term growth versus short-term gains was the right one. “That validated that taking the long run was the right decision for us,” he says. “We want to continue growing profitably and doing the right thing for the company.”