RPC Insurtech in brief - July 2021
Welcome to the July edition from RPC of Insurtech in brief, providing you with a handful of snappy monthly updates from the industry.
Digital Broker, Embroker, with plan to Become Full-Stack Insurance Carrier, Raises $100M
Embroker, a US based digital business insurance broker which plans to become a full-stack insurance carrier has secured $100 million in Series C funding.
Embroker describes itself as a 'digitally-native' business insurance company which uses modern technology, including machine learning and artificial technology, to eliminate the inefficiencies that increase prices and lead to frustrating customer experiences. Embroker utilises algorithmic underwriting and issues instant certificates to seek to make policies custom-tailored, and easier to buy and use.
Embroker’s new funding round will enable further growth of Embroker Access, a part of the company’s platform that allows retail and wholesale brokers to offer Embroker’s digital insurance products to customers.
This announcement follows on the heels of another California insurtech, Next Insurance, transitioning from a broker to a carrier. Next Insurance, also a digital insurance agency for small to medium-size businesses, began repositioning itself in 2018 to become a licensed insurance carrier. This could indicate a potential trend in the market and an opportunity for investors.
Outdoorsy Raises $120 Million As RV Rentals Soar
The online RV rental and outdoor travel marketplace, Outdoorsy, announced that it has raised an impressive $120 million in equity and debt financing.
Outdoorsy plans to use the funding to drive its growth and expansion of Roamly, the company’s innovative insurtech business, which provides insurance that is built for the modern marketplace of vehicle sharing (the renting of RVs is often excluded by insurers). Given COVID-19 creating travel restriction and risks, the interest in road trips and renting RVs has surged making this type of insurance potentially very attractive to RV owners.
Roamly seeks to provide personal pricing through using market data and years of RV experience to create a comprehensive plan without unnecessary features.
Global (re)insurer SiriusPoint is partnering with Outdoorsy on the launch of its new insurtech division.
Bolttech secures unicorn status with $180 million Series A raise
Singaporean insurtech start-up, Bolttech, has completed an oversubscribed $180million Series fundraising. The investment round is the largest series A round for an insurtech and values bolttech at over US$1 billion. Impressively, the company has achieved unicorn status just one year after its launch in 2020!
Bolttech is a global insurance exchange. Its embedded insurance platform connects insurers, distributors and customers to make it easier to buy and sell insurance and protection products. The platform has seen US$5 billion transacted in premiums so far. The company's mission is to become the world’s leading technology-enabled ecosystem for protection and insurance.
Bolttech's plans to use the funding to fuel its growth plans – including in the United States and new international markets.
The fundraise demonstrates the opportunities for players across the embedded insurance ecosystem – from platforms and tech providers, to insurers, investors and partners (like retail, e-commerce and telecoms companies). Some commentators estimate the embedded insurance market sizing to be as large as US$3 trillion.
UK AI company, Tractable, becomes a unicorn
Tractable has raised $60 million in a late-stage funding round led by investors Insight Partners and Georgian. The AI start-up is now valued at over US$1 billion. Tractable claims its US$1 billion valuation makes it the first British unicorn company focused on "computer vision" technology.
Tractable's technology helps insurers, companies and customers to carry out instant damage and claims assessments by applying AI to photos and videos. This helps the speed and accuracy of the claims process, and improves customer service. Over 20 of the global top 100 auto insurers use Tractable.
The company reports it will use the funds to double down on its core accident recovery product, as well as develop new solutions for homes (for example, typhoon damage assessments) and vehicle assessments to support sales and purchases.
Tractable's success is an example of the resilience of the InsurTech sector – with Tractable experiencing a 600% growth in the last two years despite the Covid-19 pandemic and a decline in vehicle accidents.