Snaebjorn Gunnsteinsson

WORK HISTORY

SKILLS

ABOUT SNAEBJORN GUNNSTEINSSON

I’m the co-founder and Chief Insurance Officer of Juno, the first company in North America dedicated to protecting families against the financial impact of a child’s severe illness or disability. Juno offers child disability insurance as an employee benefit, providing up to in cash to families if a child is born or becomes severely disabled or ill.The Juno story began when my nephew was born three months prematurely, and I saw how—in Iceland, where we’re from—a strong safety net supported his family. At the time, I was living in Washington, DC, and planning to start a family myself. Without such a government safety net, it did not make any sense to me that I could easily insure my laptop and bike but couldn’t insure against the much higher financial risk associated with child illness or disability.My background is in economics, statistics, mathematics and public health: I hold a Ph.D. in Economics from Yale University, an Sc.M. in Biostatistics from Johns Hopkins, and a B.Sc. in Mathematics from the University of Iceland, and previously served as an economics professor at the University of Maryland. My academic work focused on insurance, child health, and disability, poverty and economic development in low-income countries.Today (September 2025), just over a year-and-a-half after our launch in spring 2024, I’m thrilled that Juno provides child disability insurance to tens of thousands of families through 80 organizations—ranging from venture-backed tech companies to large construction unions.I’m always looking to connect with people who are building new things, solving meaningful problems, bringing fresh ideas — and of course, those who share the belief that families shouldn’t bear the full financial risk of a child’s severe disability or illness.