Insurify Raises $100M Series B to Revolutionize Insurance

The Challenge of Insurance Shopping and Insurify's Solution

Many individuals postpone switching insurance providers simply due to the perceived difficulty of comparing options. This reluctance is understandable, as the process can often be time-consuming and complex.

Today, Insurify, a company focused on simplifying insurance rate comparisons for home, auto, and life coverage, has announced the successful completion of a $100 million Series B funding round. This round was led by Motive Partners and considered “oversubscribed,” indicating strong investor demand.

Funding Details and Company Growth

Existing investors, including Viola FinTech, MassMutual Ventures, Nationwide, Hearst Ventures, and Moneta VC, participated in this funding round. New investors, Viola Growth and Fort Ross Ventures, also contributed.

Based in Cambridge, Massachusetts, Insurify has now secured a total of $128 million in funding since its establishment in 2013. While the company has not publicly disclosed the valuation associated with this latest funding, its growth metrics are noteworthy.

Since its last funding coverage, Insurify has demonstrated substantial growth. New and recurring revenue has increased by a factor of six since the close of its Series A funding in the fourth quarter of 2019.

Furthermore, the company has achieved a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 151% over the past three years, as reported by co-founder and CEO Snejina Zacharia. Consistent year-over-year revenue growth of 2.5x has also been observed.

Insurify's Technology and Competitive Landscape

Insurify has developed a machine learning-powered virtual insurance agent. This agent integrates with over 100 carriers to streamline and personalize the insurance shopping process.

While several companies operate within the insurtech space, Insurify distinguishes itself by addressing home, auto, and life insurance needs. For instance, Jerry primarily focuses on auto insurance, with a recent expansion into home insurance. The Zebra, now a unicorn company, initially concentrated on auto insurance comparison and has since added homeowners insurance, with plans to broaden its offerings.

Recent Developments and Expansion

Following its Series A funding, Insurify expanded its home insurance marketplace and enhanced its carrier integrations to provide users with an “instant” purchase experience. The company also launched its initial embedded insurance products through partnerships with Toyota Insurance Management Solutions and Nationwide, which also invested in the Series B round.

Insurify strategically acquired engineering talent from SkyScanner last year, establishing a new office in Sofia, Bulgaria.

The Inspiration Behind Insurify

Snejina Zacharia, a former Gartner executive, founded the company after a personal experience with a minor car accident during her MBA studies at MIT. This incident resulted in a premium increase and highlighted the complexities of car insurance shopping.

Zacharia collaborated with Chief Product Officer Tod Kiryazov and her husband, KAYAK President Giorgos Zacharia, to create Insurify, which they describe as a virtual insurance agent providing real-time quotes.

“Our aim was to create the most reliable virtual insurance agent available, enabling customers to easily search, compare, and purchase coverage entirely digitally – whether on their mobile devices or computers,” Zacharia explained to TechCrunch. “We utilize artificial intelligence to offer recommendations on both coverage levels and carrier selection.”

Business Model and Future Plans

Insurify operates as a fully licensed agent, handling policy fulfillment and servicing. The company generates revenue through new and renewal commissions, resembling a SaaS-like monetization model with its embedded insurance offerings.

“We are dedicated to providing an end-to-end experience where consumers can manage all their policies in one digital location,” Zacharia stated. “The data-driven recommendations offered by our platform can significantly reduce the friction currently present in the shopping process.”

The newly acquired capital will be used to expand operations, accelerate growth, and increase the team to over 125 employees.

“We intend to enhance our API integrations to deliver real-time, personalized quotes to customers,” Kiryazov said. “We will also seek additional embedded insurance opportunities and expand the product’s functionality.”

Future expansion plans include entering new verticals, such as pet insurance.

Brand Awareness and Market Opportunity

Insurify also plans to invest in building brand awareness, potentially through television advertising.

“Nearly half of our traffic comes from direct sources,” Zacharia noted. “Therefore, we want to explore avenues for inorganic growth.”

James “Jim” O’Neill and Andy Rear from Motive Partners emphasize that online purchasing now accounts for the majority of growth in the U.S. auto insurance market.

“Experience from other markets indicates that customers value choice, presented in a clear and simple format with pricing from various insurers, and a streamlined online purchasing process,” they stated. “The U.S. auto market is substantial; even a gradual shift to online represents a significant opportunity for Insurify.”

Their due diligence revealed a business model that benefits customers, insurers, and white-label partners.

Harel Beit-On, founder and general partner at Viola Growth, believes the surge in e-commerce driven by COVID-19 will fundamentally change the insurance buying experience.

“It’s time to bring the frictionless purchasing experience that customers expect to the insurance sector,” she said. “Following our fintech fund’s recent investment, we observed Insurify’s impressive growth, effective customer acquisition, and the establishment of a trusted brand.”