# Holmes Murphy

> Holmes Murphy is a VC fund in Waukee backing InsurTech and Insurance. See 5 investments, check sizes, portfolio and contact details. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Waukee, United States
- Total investments: 5
- Last investment: Mar 2022
- Lead investor: 0%
- Fund size: $4.7M
- Last fund: Jun 2019
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/holmes-murphy-&-associates/
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/holmesmurphyins
- Website: http://www.holmesmurphy.com/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/holmesmurphyins

Holmes Murphy is a VC fund in Waukee focused on InsurTech and Insurance. Holmes Murphy & Associates provides property-casualty insurance, employee benefits, captive insurance, risk management, and loss control. It was founded in 1932 and is headquartered in Waukee, Iowa, United States.

## Contacts

5 contacts available for Holmes Murphy. Shizune tracks 5 team members at Holmes Murphy. Sign up free to unlock them: https://app.shizune.co/sign-up/investor-profiles/find-team-emails/holmes-murphy-associates?utm_source=investor_profile

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| InsurTech | 4 | 80% |
| Insurance | 3 | 60% |
| Artificial Intelligence | 3 | 60% |
| FinTech | 2 | 40% |
| Internet | 1 | 20% |

12 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Seed | 2 | 40% |
| Series A | 2 | 40% |
| Series B | 1 | 20% |

## Team

| Name | Title | Investments | Profile |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Chris Boyd | Senior Vice President, Business Development | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/chris-boyd-9da7 |
| Craig Hansen | Sr. Vice President | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/craig-hansen-fe2a |
| Dan Keough | Chairman and Chief Executive Officer | 3 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/daniel-keough |
| Dennis Bishop | President | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/dennis-bishop |
| Ellen Willadsen | Chief Financial Officer and Executive Committee Member | 0 | https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ellen-willadsen |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Layr | We use AI and machine learning to match companies with the right commercial insurance, at the right price, through top-rated carriers. The application is 100% online with our team of expert brokers available to help with any questions along the way. We focus on cash-flow-friendly payment options (pay monthly instead of annually and use your creditcard) and easy in-app policy updates. With Layr, check “Buy Business Insurance” off your list and get back to what you do best. | $10M | Series A | Mar 21, 2022 |  |
| Cowbell | Cowbell Cyber delivers a vertically integrated cyber insurance solution, making cyber insurance 2.0 a reality. Cowbell combines outside-in and inside-out risk assessment with AI-powered cyber risk modeling and underwriting to issue customized cyber policies written on the industry's most robust and admitted cyber coverage forms. Policyholdersbenefit from a transparent buying experience, a policy tailored to their unique needs, and value on day one with recommendations and services to remediate identified risks.Cowbell Cyber was founded in 2019 and is based in Pleasanton, California, United States. | $100M | Series B | Mar 15, 2022 |  |
| Cowbell | Cowbell Cyber delivers a vertically integrated cyber insurance solution, making cyber insurance 2.0 a reality. Cowbell combines outside-in and inside-out risk assessment with AI-powered cyber risk modeling and underwriting to issue customized cyber policies written on the industry's most robust and admitted cyber coverage forms. Policyholdersbenefit from a transparent buying experience, a policy tailored to their unique needs, and value on day one with recommendations and services to remediate identified risks.Cowbell Cyber was founded in 2019 and is based in Pleasanton, California, United States. | $20M | Series A | Mar 11, 2021 |  |
| TrustLayer | TrustLayer is an insurtech solution company that automates insurance verification with machine learning & AI. TrustLayer helps companies eliminate error-prone, manual processes and streamline existing workflows to increase insurance compliance and decrease organizational risk. Customers in multiple billion-dollar industries such as constructionand property management rely on TrustLayer for its ease of use, tracking and verifying certificates of insurance and other business documents, increased vendor compliance, and the ability to utilize their platform for multiple use cases. | $6.6M | Seed | Feb 02, 2021 |  |
| Highwing | Highwing is an insurance technology company that develops an open-data platform for commercial insurance brokers and carriers to automate workflows.The InsurTech software is an offering for brokers and carriers to connect, access, and leverage insurance data analytics throughout every step of the customer lifecycle. It aims to help brokers andcarriers grow sales, speed workflows, and elevate the customer experience without adding headcount. Highwing is backed by Baldwin Risk Partners, BrokerTech Ventures, Holmes Murphy, The ABD Team, Conner Strong & Buckelew, Heffernan Insurance Brokers, SkyKnight Capital, Revolution’s Rise of the Rest Seed Fund, SpringTime Ventures, Cameron Ventures, and Service Provider Capital.It was headquartered in Denver, Colorado. | $4M | Seed | Nov 10, 2020 |  |

5 of 5 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [BrokerTech Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/brokertech-ventures) — VC Fund, 3 deals together
- [Anthemis](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/anthemis-group) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Avanta Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/avanta-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Brewer Lane Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/brewer-lane-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Heffernan Insurance Brokers](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/heffernan-insurance-brokers) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [ManchesterStory Group](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/manchesterstory-group-2) — VC Fund, 2 deals together

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## Featured in investor lists
- [InsurTech VC Funds in United States](https://shizune.co/investors/insurtech-vc-funds-united-states)
- [InsurTech Investors in United States](https://shizune.co/investors/insurtech-investors-united-states)

## FAQ

### What does Holmes Murphy invest in?

Holmes Murphy invests primarily in InsurTech, Insurance and Artificial Intelligence startups, most often at Seed and Series A stage. Most of the 5 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### How do I contact Holmes Murphy?

Public channels for Holmes Murphy include LinkedIn, X (Twitter) and the website linked on this profile. For a verified work email and phone number, create a free Shizune account — contact data is searched across 20+ sources and validated before delivery, so your outreach lands in the right inbox.

### Who are the partners at Holmes Murphy?

The team at Holmes Murphy includes Chris Boyd (Senior Vice President, Business Development), Craig Hansen (Sr. Vice President) and Dan Keough (Chairman and Chief Executive Officer). The Team section lists each member with their title, investment count and links.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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