Join LendIt on Monday, August 14 at 2:00 PM EST for a webinar about blockchain technology and insurance; the webinar will discuss how blockchain can streamline operations for wealth managers and insurance back office operations; presenters include Jayant Khadilkar, global head of analytics and technology at Tiger Risk, and Ryan Rugg, business development at R3. Source
Insurtech firm Trov has announced a $45 million investment from a Series D fundraising round; the platform plans to use the funds to expand its products, further develop its technology and enter new global markets; investors in the recent fundraising round included Munich Re/HSB Ventures, Oak HC/FT, Suncorp Group, Guidewire, Anthemis and Japan's Sompo Holdings; the single item insurer is already active in Australia, the UK and the US with its next expansion planned for Japan. Source
Yunfeng Financial Group (Yunfeng FG) said it would be the main investor in a $1.7 billion acquisition of insurer MassMutual International's Hong Kong unit; Yunfeng FG will hold 60% of MassMutual Asia and the rest will be owned by other investors such as Ant Financial, Singapore sovereign wealth fund GIC Private Ltd and China's internet giant Sina; the deal will add insurance products to Yunfeng's existing fintech-focused financial services. Source
Aviva, Hillhouse Capital and Tencent have announced plans for a new digital insurer, Aviva Hong Kong; Aviva and Hillhouse will own 40% with Tencent owning the remaining 20%; the new platform will focus on selling digital life insurance in Hong Kong and will also offer additional investment products. Source
New insurtech platform Ladder has launched, offering digital life insurance; the platform's life insurance product will be available to consumers in California; the company is marketing a faster, more efficient process for life insurance applications and coverage; its platform can approve customers in minutes for life insurance policies up to $8 million; it charges no annual policy fees and its policies are reinsured by Hannover Re US. Source
Insurtech firm Lemonade is expanding to 46 new states and the District of Columbia; launch in Washington, Wyoming and Mississippi will be delayed because of statutory wait times; firm will continue to focus on its main product which includes insurance for homeowners and renters. 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
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
Provides details on announcements from both companies and compares the offerings; PolicyGenius has entered the rental insurance market, launching its rental insurance product this week; also this week Lemonade announced expansion of its rental and homeowners insurance to New Jersey. Source
CB Insights shares the total number of startup investments by (re)insurers since 2012; (re)insurers have taken an increased interest in investing in insurtech companies with an estimated 135 investments in 2016; some of the most recent insurtech deals spanning many verticals of insurance are shared below. Source
