Talk of the town has been that the dynamics between venture capital and founders is changing. Gone are the days of grow premium at all costs. Now that actuarial science has caught up with high flying InsurTech IPOs, everyone is uncertain.
Will startups be able to hit their milestones? Will VCs have enough capital to fund the next crop of InsurTechs? Who is the new benchmark for growth, if it is not Lemonade?
Policygenius raised its Series E, then immediately followed it with layoffs. Next has raised nearly $1B to stay out of the public market. And, Coalition, another Series E company, has been out of the news.
In contrast, Branch just raised $147M at a $1B valuation. This was possible because of its recent accomplishments:
> It sustained 1300% YoY Premium growth
> It modeled how embedded distribution can work with partnerships like Homepoint Mortgage
> It took legitimate action for social causes by launching a nonprofit, SafetyNest
Branch gives optimism that with disciplined growth and realistic path to profitable premiums that founders will still be able to raise capital. If Branch can do it, the InsurTech readers of this newsletter can certainly hit their investor milestones.
AI & Automation
June 21 | 5:30pm – 8:00pm | NYC
– Speakers include: Chief Pricing Officer, Legal & General and Chief Data Scientist at Prudential
InsurTech Rapids: Founders and Investors Forum
July 21-22 | 2 Days | Santa Fe, NM
– Investor + Startup tracks on: board structure, financial forecasting, and war stories
The Digital Distributor
August 25 | 5:30pm – 8:00pm | NY
– Topics include Sales Productivity, Digital MGAs, and Embedded Insurance
Thank you to our sponsors of our June event.
If you are interested in sponsoring, send us a note at contact@insurtechny.com.
Do you have team members or partners that could use a crash course on the insurance industry?
Primerli offers a streamlined and engaging primer that helps professionals understand the basics of the industry in just one hour. The primer covers key aspects of the industry, including: Insurance products, value chain, key players in the ecosystem, fundamental economics of the insurance business, how insurance companies are organized, and key industry trends.
Learn more about the Insurance Primer at: Primerli
Discover a curated mix of June InsurTech financings, exits, partnerships, opportunities, and partner events on the East Coast.
Branch ($147M, Weatherford Capital): P&C: Digital distribution using API and embedded options to reduce transactional friction in the purchase experience.
Overalls ($4.6M , RPM Ventures): Life: Supplemental voluntary benefit distribution platform embedding financial guidance and planning into the user experience.
Nava ($40M, Thrive Capital): Health: Online benefits brokerage focused on reducing costs and implementation for smaller employers without dedicated HR depts.
Partner Events and Programs
Onramp Insurance Conference (June 15)
The Digital Insurer – World’s Digital Insurance Awards (Due Sept 1): Now accepting applications from Americas for Insurtech Innovation.
Insurtech Connect (Sept 20-22)
See more information and register via our website: https://www.insurtechny.com/upcoming-insurtech-conferences/
CSAA Insurance Group – Sr. Associate – Venture Capital
Equal Ventures – InsurTech/FinTech Associate
Global Insurance Accelerator – Program Manager
New York Dept of Financial Services – Deputy Superintendent for Property Bureau, Assistant Deputy Superintendent for Property Bureau
TIAA – Solutions Strategy Senior Analyst
See more information and apply via our blog: https://www.insurtechny.com/jobs/