RPC Insurtech in brief – March 2021

Welcome to the latest edition from RPC of Insurtech in brief, providing you with a handful of snappy monthly updates from the industry.

Access the full Insurtech in brief here. 

1. UK Insurtech Zego Partners with Irish Mobility Startup Brite to Offer Electric Fleet Cover

Irish mobility start-up Brite has teamed up with mobility insurance provider Zego to expand its fleet offering of e-bikes, e-mopeds and e-scooters in Ireland. 

The partnership means that Zego will automatically insure businesses, university campuses and delivery services that use Brite's fleet of e-vehicles. Brite will be the first micromobility company in Ireland to provide full coverage to its riders. 

Brite will share trip data to enable Zego to price the insurance based on usage. The flexibility of the coverage will hopefully mean the reduction of large upfront costs for Brite, enabling Brite to have access to more funds which it can use for further growth and the expansion of its multi-modal fleet.

2. Insurance verification startup TrustLayer raises $6.6M from BrokerTech, Ventures

TrustLayer, developer of a proof-of-insurance risk management platform, has raised $6.6 million in a seed round of funding from venture investors, insurance brokers and others.

“Verification of insurance and business credentials is a pain point for millions of businesses and demands a solution that is automated and secure,” said John Fohr, co-founder and CEO of TrustLayer.

TrustLayer pitches itself as a collaborative risk management solution that automates the verification of insurance, licenses, and compliance documents that a company receives from its business partners using AI and machine learning technology. The technology is said to enable you to verify coverages, check exclusions and get insight into insurance validity in real-time. 

BrokerTench, Venures is an investor. The group, made up of 13 U.S. insurance agencies and 11 insurance companies (including The Hanover Insurance Group, Grange Insurance, and Travelers, among others), runs an accelerator that focuses on providing “broker-centric insurtech startups” access to seed funding, knowledge and also agency and non-agency mentors.

3. Insurtech Hippo in talks to go public via merger with SPAC: Bloomberg

Hippo, a home insurance insurtech agency is in talks to go public through a merger with a special purpose acquisition company, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

The transaction with Reinvent Technology Partners, a special purpose acquisition company is set to value the combined entity at more than $5 billion, according to one of the people, who requested anonymity because the talks are private.

Hippo announced in November that it had received a $350 million investment from Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Co., a subsidiary of MS&AD Insurance Group Holdings Inc. In July, it raised funds from investors including Dragoneer, Ribbit Capital, Felicis Ventures and Iconiq Capital, and Chief Executive Officer Assaf Wand said the firm could go public in 2021.