The land of traditional insurance is getting an upgrade.
2017 might be the year the insurance industry (which tends to conjure up images of cramped cubicles, multiplying paperwork, and incomprehensible legalese) gets the fintech touch; in fact, we’ve already seen the beginnings of the change with certain startups named after certain citrus beverages.
Want to know who else is changing the insurance game? Take a look at Bank Innovation’s list of five below:
Trov
This California-based company combines two of the features consumers love the most—mobile, and on-demand services—into one insurance platform. The startup covers its users against all of the usual things—accidental damage, theft, loss—with triple the usual speed, processing your claim via a smartphone in minutes, rather than in weeks. Trov, which just closed a $45 million round of funding (bringing its total worth up to approximately $90 million) is currently available for users in the United Kingdom and Australia, but will be making its U.S. debut later this year.
Fabric
Launched in Brooklyn, New York, this startup wants to dilute the process of life insurance down to a few taps on a screen. Fabric, which raised its seed round of $2.5 million last month, allows users to purchase their life insurance policies quickly, digitally, and directly. Currently, Fabric provides its services through Vantis Life, but give it time. The company does not have its own app, but has built out a browser-based application for digital devices, including desktop, mobile, and tablet.
Like certain others in the insurance game, Fabric aims to ease some of the cost concerns, by offering its Fabric Instant service, which allows users to pay $6 per month for accidental death coverage of $100,000.
Brolly
As a consumer, figuring out if you’re signing up for the right kind of insurance is exhausting, and is exactly the problem Brolly, an insurtech based in London, wants to fix.
The company, which launched last year (after raising a $13 million round of seed funding in Sept. 2016), uses AI technology to help users find out if they’re over-covered, under-covered, missing covers, or even if they can get a more convenient price for the coverage they want.
The startup, as the U.K.’s “first AI insurance advisory app,” allows users to keep track of their insurance price and documents within the app (a system which has got to be easier than keeping that collection of useless documents piled in some red folders).
Simplesurance
This Berlin-based startup wants to tackle the snarls of insurance for businesses, and is specializing in product insurances. The company, which raised a $20 million round of venture funding in March, helps e-commerce providers cross-sell their product insurances within their digital checkout processes to boost online profits.
More than 1,000 online shops rely on Simplesurance solutions right now across the EU (all 28 countries), as well as in the U.S. and Canada.
Ladder
Ladder, which was launched after sealing a $14 million Series A in October 2016, wants to enable consumers to get a life insurance quote within seconds—dialing down a process that can take weeks. Users apply for insurance coverage online, and receive term insurance coverage instantly after the application. The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company then allows users to personalize their policies, based on individual needs.
Looking at all of the startups above — and other companies, such as Lemonade (which is already on Bank Innovation’s list of best financial apps) — it certainly seems like insurtech is on the rise across the globe.