David McFarland is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of Coterie Insurance, a tech-enabled, data-driven managing general agent (MGA) redefining how small businesses access and purchase commercial insurance.  
 
Under his leadership, Coterie has emerged as one of the fastest-growing platforms in the small commercial segment, combining advanced data, AI, automation, and underwriting discipline to deliver speed, simplicity, and profitability at scale. 
 
A trained actuary turned entrepreneur, McFarland brings a rare combination of technical rigor and operator mindset to the insurance industry. Prior to founding Coterie, he served as Chief Actuary and Head of Product & Pricing at Clearcover, where he helped build one of the early digitally native insurance models focused on data-driven underwriting and customer-centric design. 
 
McFarland founded Coterie with a clear thesis: small business insurance was too slow, too complex, and economically inefficient for both agents and carriers. By leveraging structured data, API-first architecture, and automated underwriting, he has led the company in building a platform that enables agents and brokers to quote and bind policies in minutes, while maintaining strong underwriting performance and operating leverage. 
 
Known for his disciplined approach to growth, McFarland has focused on aligning distribution, underwriting, and capital from the outset, positioning Coterie not just as a digital distribution player, but as foundational infrastructure for the future of small commercial insurance. His leadership reflects a commitment to long-term value creation over short-term optics, emphasizing sustainable growth, transparency, and operational resilience. 
 
Today, McFarland is widely recognized for his perspective on the evolution of digital MGAs, the role of AI in underwriting and operations, and the structural transformation of insurance distribution. He is a frequent speaker on topics including platform economics, data-driven risk selection, and the future of agent-centric insurance models.