ClaimPlace Falls Victim to Tight Venture Capital Market

ClaimPlace, a Wilmington, MA-based ASP that launched last September, has ceased normal operations, and visitors to its Web site (www.claimplace.com) are greeted by a blank screen with the simple legend reading, "ClaimPlace has closed."

ClaimPlace CEO Ellen Wilcox could not be reached for comment at press time, but a spokesperson for The Hartford, the start-up's principal investor and first client, said that because of a tight venture capital market, ClaimPlace's mission to serve as a multi-carrier property and casualty claims processing hub had not succeeded and it had been absorbed into the carrier. "We're keeping the name and there's a good possibility that it will go out again as a company," the spokesperson told Insurance & Technology, adding that ClaimPlace's Internet reporting capability and subrogation software continue in beta at The Hartford and is progressing according to the original timetable.

"We still believe in the technology, but the timing was unfavorable and factors that no one had any control over got in the way," the spokesperson adds. "We may try to launch the company again in a friendlier market, or we may market the technology to other carriers as an ASP, or through another model."

Anthony O'Donnell has covered technology in the insurance industry since 2000, when he joined the editorial staff of Insurance & Technology. As an editor and reporter for I&T and the InformationWeek Financial Services of TechWeb he has written on all areas of information ... View Full Bio