Insurance-as-a-Service for the French Market

Seyna Announces New Leadership

A change in leadership is occurring at the French startup Seyna. Stephen Leguillon has been appointed as the new chief executive officer of the company.

Philippe Mangematin, the previous CEO, is transitioning away from daily operational responsibilities due to personal commitments. He will assume the role of honorary chairman.

Understanding Seyna’s Business Model

Seyna operates as an insurtech startup and has notably secured a full insurance license. This license focuses on property and casualty insurance.

The granting of this license by the French regulator (ACPR) is particularly noteworthy, as it represents the first new license issued in this category since 1983.

Insurance-as-a-Service Approach

Seyna employs a unique go-to-market strategy. Rather than directly selling insurance to end consumers, the company focuses on providing insurance-as-a-service.

This involves partnering with other businesses, allowing them to offer Seyna’s insurance products under their own branding.

Technical Infrastructure and API

At its core, Seyna provides an API – a programming interface enabling interaction between different services – for generating insurance contracts on demand.

Direct access to Seyna’s interface is also available for contract management purposes.

Proprietary Insurance System

A key differentiator for Seyna is its internally developed core insurance system. This distinguishes it from more established, legacy insurance providers.

The system is capable of generating a wide range of insurance product variations, covering approximately 20 different types of insurance, including pet insurance, event cancellation coverage, and rent guarantees.

Current clients of Seyna include Garantme and Decathlon.

Stephen Leguillon’s Background

Prior to joining Seyna, Stephen Leguillon was a co-founder of La Belle Assiette, a platform connecting users with private chefs for in-home dining experiences.

He also spearheaded the development of GoCater, a corporate catering service, which was later spun out of La Belle Assiette and acquired by ezCater.

Funding and Capital Requirements

Seyna has successfully raised a €14 million seed funding round, equivalent to approximately $17 million based on current exchange rates.

This investment came from Global Founders Capital, Allianz France, Financière Saint James, and a group of angel investors.

Given the substantial capital typically required to operate an insurance company, the size of Seyna’s seed round is considerable within the French market.