Propel, the $150 million fintech venture capital company set up by Spanish bank BBVA is investing $14.1 million into InsurTech startup, Hixme; the investment was announced at Money 20/20 in Las Vegas; Propel’s sole backer is BBVA - its $150 million of funding makes it one of the biggest fintech-focused funds in the world; the company's hope is to invest in next-generation fintech companies. Jay Reinemann, managing partner at Proper Ventures, says: "Insurance has been one of the latest hot areas, it's been that way for at least a year. Source
A research report on insurtech from Gartner says the majority of the world’s 25 largest insurance companies will invest in insurtech by 2018; 64% of these companies have already made significant investments in emerging insurtech companies and innovation; among the highest priorities for investment are digitization, digital customer management, mobile and analytics. Source
Privately-owned, US marketplace lender, SoFi, has announced it will be expanding its product offerings to include life insurance by becoming a broker; within the industry the company is primarily known for its student loan refinancing services; it has also been expanding its product offerings to include personal loans, mortgage loans and wealth management in an effort to more actively meet broader financial needs for its clients; Lend Academy provides more details on the life insurance offering and future growth expectations for the company in their article. Source
Leading Chinese insurtech firm, ZhongAn, has announced the addition of a new fintech incubator; ZhongAn Information and Technology Services Co., Ltd. will be focused on technology development in the following four areas: artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and data; seeks to be a technology accelerator for insurtech. Source
In a press release this week, marketplace lender, SoFi, provided more details on its partnership with Protective and announced the launch of a new term life insurance offering for millennials; product provides life insurance for up to $1 million and features a 20 minute application and approval process. Source
Online auto insurance company, EverQuote, has raised $23 million in Series B funding; the funding is part of a pre-IPO plan to provide liquidity to its founders and employees; the firm will also use the funding to hire 120 employees focused on sales and data; plans also include directly selling insurance on the platform with the use of proprietary data from the firm's app, EverDrive. Source
SoFi has begun to acquire state life insurance licenses and is working with Protective Life Insurance Co. on a life insurance partnership; known for student loan refinancing, life insurance would add to the company's expanding product offerings which now include mortgage loans, personal loans and wealth management. Source
Facebook's data and privacy rules have slowed business development plans for insurtech firm, Admiral; many fintech firms have sought to use social media profiles in crowdfunding with little success for various reasons; insurtech firm, Admiral, will now be forced to end its plans to use Facebook social media posts and likes for consideration in auto insurance underwriting; Facebook says use of the information is a violation of its data privacy rules. Source
The Chinese insurance market has doubled in size the last six years and according to China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) it will grow on average 13% for the next four years; these growth numbers will allow for technology disrupters to enter the space and for the insurance market to be transformed; the market is split into three different segments, which include online delivery of traditional insurance, technological upgrades to products and new ecosystem oriented products from insurtech startups; though there is tremendous opportunity, the key question will be, do the state-owned enterprises and traditional insurers create their own tech or partner and absorb these new firms. Source
Insurance and insurtech companies are seeking synergies in the industry as technology is evolving; at the Intelligent InsurTech Europe conference this week in London, industry participants discussed the many ways companies are partnering and developing new services; the industry conference revealed many large companies are investing in insurtech through incubators and direct investment; in-house innovation labs are also a prevalent trend occurring with large insurance companies; most large insurance companies are finding it important to partner and invest with insurtech companies in order to stay current with the industry’s evolving landscape. Source