The commercial insurance submission is a document-heavy, email-forwarding grind. For an agency placing a client's risk, it means chasing down dozens of subjectivities, the specific answers to a carrier's unique application questions, from the client, then manually compiling them into a submission package. Pigeon, a startup founded by Adam Sharf, is betting that workflow is ripe for automation. Its pitch is a single platform where agencies can build, send, and track submissions, with an API designed to automatically request the needed information from clients [Pigeon website, retrieved 2024].
Sharf, who spoke at Insurtech Insights Europe 2024, has positioned the company as a specialist in "automated subjectivity collection and management" [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, retrieved 2024]. The core promise is to replace a fragmented, manual process with a centralized workflow, offering what the company calls "white-glove technical service and 24/7 dedicated customer support" [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, retrieved 2024].
The Wedge Into the Workflow
Pigeon's entry point is narrow. It is not building a full-stack agency management system or a new marketplace. Instead, it focuses on the submission desk, the operational choke point where an agency's work meets a carrier's underwriting requirements. The company offers an API that, according to its materials, "automatically sends an email requesting relevant subjectivities" to the appropriate contact [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, retrieved 2024].
This is a classic SaaS wedge: automate a painful, repetitive task that everyone agrees is inefficient. The company claims at least one implementation partner, citing Gridiron Insurance as an entity that "just enhanced their Easy Excess portal with Pigeon" [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, retrieved 2024].
The Solo Founder and the AI Question
Public information points to a lean operation. Adam Sharf is identified as the COO and Founder, and he is the sole public face of the company [Perplexity Sonar Pro Brief, retrieved 2024]. In April 2025, Sharf posted on LinkedIn that "Pigeon is now powered by AI" [LinkedIn, April 2025]. This claim, while unverified by third-party coverage or product documentation, suggests a direction beyond basic workflow automation.
The path forward involves several known challenges. The insurance brokerage software stack is crowded and sticky, dominated by giants like Vertafore and Applied Systems. Pigeon must convince agencies to adopt a new point solution for a subset of their workflow. Its success likely hinges on smooth integration with existing systems and demonstrating a clear return on time investment.
For an early-stage company with a solo founder and a focused product, the next milestones are straightforward. They involve converting the Gridiron Insurance partnership into a public case study, landing additional agency customers, and clarifying the technical substance behind the AI claim.