Insurtech Buddy Launches To Help Weekend Warriors

For people who enjoy outdoor hobbies like skiing or cycling, rising healthcare costs and the proliferation of high-deductible health-insurance plans offer a conundrum: Can they keep doing the physical tasks they enjoy, even if an accident could wipe out their savings? That’s the problem being tackled by Buddy, an insurtech that launched in Arizona in October 2018. Buddy offers episodic supplemental accident coverage for active people, which can be turned on and off for the duration of a skiing, hiking or hunting trip, right from a mobile phone. Co-founders Charles Merritt, James Paul and David Vogeleer looked to bring their disparate business experiences to bear in a way that would help people with similar interests to them feel more secure in enjoying their hobbies.