The insurance industry across the world is on a high note. However, compared to the US, there is slow economic growth in the emerging market and constrained growth in Europe. Though 2017 ended positively, there was a slow down in growth in 2018. However, this is of various paces in different European countries.
The three large markets in the continent for insurance are the UK, Germany and France and these countries saw marginal growth in GWP during the past few years. There are reports predicting that the overall insurance market will grow significantly in the coming years.
GetSafe raises €15M funding
Given the predicted growth of insurance companies, GetSafe, a German startup headquartered at Heidelberg has announced that it has raised €15 million in Series A funding. This funding round was led by Earlybird along with participation from CommerzVentures and other existing investors. With this investment, the overall funding raised by the company stands at $40 million (nearly €35 million).
Founded in 2014 by Christian Wiens and Marius Blaesing, the German insurtech startup will use the investment to double its team from the existing 50 to over 100 employees. Besides this, it will also focus on software development, customer care and data science. Also, GetSafe will work towards growing in the international markets.
“We want to become the go-to insurance brand for a whole generation of young customers in Europe,” said co-founder and CEO Christian Wiens. “To achieve this, we rely on technological solutions that simplify the lives of our customers and have built one of the most powerful insurance platforms in the world. Now it’s time to expand our activities at home and abroad.”
Most powerful insurance platform!
GetSafe provides liability, dental, legal and renters insurance and also offers add-ons for bikes, drones and family members. With this one-of-its-kind approach, the insurtech startup targets milennial customers. Also, its portfolio includes coverage to damage caused by bicycles and quadcopters. The company also provides content insurance covering fires, storms, burglaries and gross negligence. It also provides household insurance, which covers valuables, household objects, clothing and furnishings.
To reach other markets in 2020!
Ever since its launch, GetSafe has been growing significantly. Back in 2018, the company sold 50,000 insurance policies and it intends to sell 180,000 policies this year. Recently, it entered the UK market and is expected to set foot in the other markets in 2020.
“While US startups often tend to first scale and fix infrastructure later, we Germans like to do it the other way round,” added Wiens. “Getsafe’s platform already supports several insurance lines and creates the basis for the company to operate an exceptionally efficient business model.”
‘Mobile-first’ insurance company attracts milennial users
GetSafe works via an app-based model and lets users apply for insurance policies via their smartphone. It is touted that the process takes less than five minutes. Once a user signs up for coverage, the user will get access to the dashboard via which they can file claims, update their personal details, access insurance-related documents and cancel plans.
This app-based business model appeals to the milennials. It meets the core requirements of young policyholders with an average age of 29 years. Notably, 75% of these targeted users are first time buyers of insurance policy who find its services and benefits appealing. Also, 10% of its users are aged between 20 and 35 years.
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