Insurtech Open raises $31 million series B to go global

Australian insurtech Open has raised a $31 million series B as it looks to launch in New Zealand and the UK in the 12 months.

The round was led by Kiwi VC Movac and Latitude in the UK. Existing investor AirTree Ventures backed the scale-up once again, taking the total capital raised to $53 million. Other investors include Hollard Insurance, which underwrites Open’s products, Seven West Media and Five V.

Open, best known for the Huddle insurance brand, now has more than 70,000 customers in Australia and has doubled its revenue in the past 12 months.

Following the raise it’s now looking to launch in New Zealand in late 2021, followed by the UK in mid-2022. The funds are earmarked to expand its teams in Australia and New Zealand, accelerate growth and add new products for the SME segment.

Open partners can easily embed insurance into any app or website APIs using the insurtech’s platform. It makes it simple to share data, prepopulate quotes, and offer personalised savings. Open’s embedded insurance model has been embraced by fintechs, car and home lenders, telcos, utilities and insurers to create new revenue streams.

Open co-founder Jason Wilby said connected insurance is a global opportunity.

“Imagine a world in which you only pay for car insurance based on how much you drive, your home contents policy automatically updates when you buy new tech, and your travel insurance automatically activates when you land in another country,” he said.

“These are the possibilities Open’s connected insurance offers today through our direct to consumer brand Huddle, as well as partnerships with leading brands such as Telstra Plus, ahm, and On by EnergyAustralia.”

Movac partner Jason Graham said insurance is one of the last areas of financial services to be disrupted, chiefly due to high barriers to entry. Open is the ninth portfolio company in Movac’s Fund 5.

“Insurtech is years behind payments and lending in terms of digitisation and it’s in need of renewed focus on customer outcomes,” he said.

“Open is the leading embedded insurance player across Australia and New Zealand. Their technology is built to bring trust back to the insurance industry and through their exponential growth, we can see that consumers prefer this new, ethical, digital way of doing insurance.”

Open co-founder Jonathan Buck said the business is on a mission to provide the fastest insurance, at the best price, for the world.

“We’ve always been driven to deliver better outcomes for customers by solving insurance problems with technology,” he said.

“Now, with international VC funds, Movac and Latitude, backing our mission, we’re excited about helping customers across the world save money, time and stress.”

AirTree partner James Cameron said they were proud to see Open become a breakout success stories, valued at more than $100 million.

“Insurance is a sleeping giant when it comes to technology. Jason, Jonathan and the team are obsessed with making their customer’s lives easier and have built unique technology to solve their problems,” he said.

“We’re excited to have global investors joining us in this round to put the team in a great position for their expansion to the UK, NZ and beyond.”