What’s a B Corp?

There are lots of Branch features that set us apart in the insurance industry—we’re built to bundle, our claims team leads in innovation and member experience, and we make it surprisingly simple to get covered. But the stuff that really sets us apart, and really matters to us? Doing business with a dedication to communal good.

That’s why, for us, committing to be B Corp Certified was a no-brainer—B Corp is an organization that evaluates and unites businesses committed to doing good and upholding higher standards of environmental, social, and governance impact. It’s a way we stay accountable to the things that matter most to us.

What does communal good mean?

Good question. Unfortunately, this isn’t something we often talk about in business or startups, and especially not in insurance. So we’re trying to change that.

When insurance started out, it was just a bunch of neighbors or farmers pooling money so they could protect their property and each other’s in case of an emergency. Sounds nice, right? A community coming together to help each other. It’s why we consider insurance, at its roots, to be a communal good—because it really is about neighbors caring for one another, that premium is just handled by bigger businesses now.

Or at least, that’s what we think it should be.

What does B Corp have to do with this?

Because Branch fundamentally believes insurance was intended to do good in the world, we think that should still apply to business practices today. We want to be sure we’re not just doing right by our members, but by our environment, our Branchers (our staff), and our communities. Being B Corp Certified gives us tangible ways to measure that impact, and a way to be publicly accountable to it.

After meeting foundational requirements—which is just showing our compatibility with the B Corp mission—there are seven impact topics designed to “raise the bar on what it means to be a purpose-driven business, giving companies a clear blueprint for leadership in responsible business practices.” Those seven topics are: 

1. Purpose and stakeholder governance
2. Climate action
3. Justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion
4. Government affairs and collective action
5. Fair work
6. Human rights
7. Environmental stewardship and circularity

How can an insurance company do business for good?

For starters, doing their job well: pricing policies fairly, taking good care of the people they insure, and excelling at what they signed up to do, which is handling claims. Branch is built to be exceptional across all these areas, of course, but we think insurance can do better.

Climate change, for example, has an expanding impact—one that often increases risk and costs for insurers to cover their customers and members. It’s something Branch deals with, too. So with such a vested interest in the risks associated with climate change, why isn’t it more of a priority for insurance carriers to work against climate change?

This is just one reason why the public, often rightfully, feels like insurers might be thinking more about their bottom lines than the needs of the customers they promised to protect. That’s why Branch is doing things differently, and that’s why it’s important for us to stay B Corp Certified to stay accountable to taking a better approach to insurance.

B Corp has always just been a first step for us, but Branch has big hopes for the impact we can make as we grow. It’s part of making insurance a communal good.

Want to learn more about B Corp and Branch’s Certification? Check out their website.