Cover Genius raises US$100mn and hits unicorn status
The Australian insurtech Cover Genius is the latest company in the space to hit unicorn status, following its Series C investment round that saw it raise $100mn.
According to reports, the round was led by the Singapore office of Japanese insurer Sompo Holdings, which invested $68mn, alongside other investors, Silicon Valley VC G Squared, and existing investors.
So far Cover Genius is yet to comment on the new valuation, which Bloomberg reported had hit the $1bn mark. The latest funding round is just another step in a month of impressive investments in Australian startup companies. Airwallex raised $275mn in a series E, Canva raised $273 million raised by Canva, while SiteMinder managed a $100mn pre-IPO raise.
Cover Genius strategy
Cover Genius, which was founded in 2014 by former Yahoo executive Angus McDonald and Chris Bayley, previously of Google BDM, was originally set up to sell travel insurance. It later expanded into more cover products.
Recently declared the world’s fastest-growing insurtech by The Financial Times Cover Genius currently specialises in providing end-to-end embedded insurance to customers of major digital companies. These include eBay, Shopee, Wayfair, Booking Holdings, and Intuit.
The funding will be put towards enhancing Cover Genius’s insurance distribution platform. It will also fund new e-commerce, property, travel, mobility, auto, B2B, and financial services, partners.
Speaking about the recent funding round during a Bloomberg interview, McDonald said Cover Genius had experienced a half year, during which it had tripled its gross written premium (GWP) and signed 20 new partners across multiple industries.
“With 70% of customers wanting embedded insurance integrated into their online experiences, our XCover distribution platform is helping some of the world’s largest global companies exceed their customer expectations of what insurance can be with a single API call,” he said.
“Our technology, licensed in more than 60 countries and all 50 US states, gives our partners the ability to protect their customers, regardless of location, currency, or language. This strategic investment will help us expand our capabilities into markets equipped for new lines of distribution.”
Cover Genius technology platform
Meanwhile, Daniel Neo, Sompo Asia CEO pointed out that the technology supporting Cover Genius has positioned the company perfectly for a global, platform-based economy.
“The company’s disruptive approach to insurance benefits both customers, who receive a seamless digital experience, and partners that can provide customers global, expandable insurance offerings with dynamic pricing and product recommendations,” he said.
Larry Aschebrook, founder and managing partner of VC G Squared, added, “Cover Genius’ impressive management team has built a global, multi-line insurance offering with what we believe to be unrivaled breadth.
“The company has partnered with a number of top-tier companies to utilise its insurance distribution platform and has demonstrated clear recurring revenue growth with those partners. We view the unique underwriting customisation as a key differentiator.”
