Tech startup dealmaking by insurance firms including AXA, XL Catlin, MassMutual, and others is on pace for a record high in 2016. Carriers are no longer shying away from insurance tech.
As more insurers including Aviva, XL Catlin, and Guardian Life launch investment arms, tech startup dealmaking by insurance firms is on pace for a record high in 2016, according to CB Insights data. In the first three months of 2016, insurers completed nearly 20 deals. The same set of insurers completed just 8 deals over the same period last year.
Interestingly, while insurers previously shied away from tech startups working directly in the insurance value chain, 2016 has seen several strategic investments by carriers into insurance tech startups. These deals include XL Innovate’s investment in Slice Labs, a startup aiming to provide on-demand coverage for ride-sharing drivers and home-sharing owners; Intact’s investment in per-mile insurance provider Metromile; and MassMutual Ventures, Transamerica Ventures, and AXA Strategic Ventures’ investment into insurance-comparison portal PolicyGenius.
(Note: This research brief primarily analyzes non-healthcare insurance corporations. A complete list of the insurance companies and their corporate VC arms used in this analysis is provided at the end of this research brief.)
Below are a handful of the largest tech deals in Q1’16 that included a strategic insurance investor.
| Company | Description | Strategic Round Investor | Round Amount ($M) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Blockstream | Sidechain technology development | AXA Strategic Ventures | 55 |
| Captricity | Data capture platform for paper documents | White Mountains Insurance Group | 35 |
| DataRobot | Machine learning platform for data scientists | New York Life Strategic Investments | 33 |
| Bochewang | Used car marketplace | Ping An Ventures | 30 |
| Riskified | E-commerce fraud and charge-back prevention | The Phoenix Companies | 25 |
| YourMechanic | Auto repair on-demand | American Family Ventures | 24 |
| Maxwell Health | Technology platform for employee benefits | Sun Life Financial, GIS Strategic Ventures | 22 |
| PolicyGenius | Policy-comparison engine for term life and other personal lines | AXA Strategic Ventures, MassMutual Ventures, Transamerica Ventures | 15 |
For reference, active insurance CVCs and corporates since 2010 included in this venture capital financing analysis are listed below:
- AXA Strategic Ventures
- Allianz Digital Corporate Ventures
- AIG
- American Family Ventures
- Aviva Ventures
- Intact Financial
- China Life
- John Hancock/ManuLife
- Sun Life Financial
- Gibraltar Ventures
- Ping An Ventures
- Chubb
- White Mountains
- USAA
- Northwestern Mutual
- MassMutual Ventures
- New York Life
- Phoenix
- GIS Strategic Ventures
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