Branch banks $50m to tackle the root problem of the insurance sector

Home and auto insurance startup Branch Insurance raised $50m in Series B funding led by Anthemis Group.

The round saw participation from Acrew, Cherry Creek Holdings, and existing investors Greycroft, HSCM Bermuda, American Family Ventures, SignalFire, SCOR P&C Ventures, Foundation Capital and Tower IV.

The funding comes after the firm raised $24m in a Series A funding round in July 2020.

The company, which has raised $82.5m to date, intends to use the funds to accelerate its rollout across the US to enable more national embedded partnerships. The InsurTech has over 30 partnerships with industry-leading names such as Rocket Mortgage and ADT and is branching out in more states.

Led by Steve Lekas, Branch Insurance utilises technology to make bundling home and auto insurance online quick by enabling consumers to get instant, online insurance prices using a few pieces of information. The company has plans to take its rapid underwriting and quoting technology for home and auto insurance nationwide by the end of 2021.

The company has also launched programs that leverage the community to make insurance even less expensive. Members are rewarded for inviting friends to join Branch, practising safe driving behaviours and pledging that their friends in the community will not commit insurance fraud. Branch also works alongside its non-profit entity, SafetyNest, to help those who are un- or underinsured.

The company’s products are underwritten by the Branch Insurance Exchange and General Security National Insurance Company (GSNIC).

It has already seen a 660% increase in active policies and a 734% increase in active premiums since its last funding raise. It now aims to reach 80% of the US population by the end of 2021.

Commenting on the firm’s growth plans, Lekas said, “The industry is structurally flawed and it harms consumers. Complicated policies, rising costs, and marketing warfare all contribute to a vicious cycle that results in overpriced insurance.

“Branch was built differently in order to break that cycle and introduce consumers to insurance that is simple to buy, offered in moments of convenience, and meaningfully less expensive.”

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