For many companies selling ancillary services or products (think insurance), the biggest problem when selling online is having their offering be surfaced at the right moment in the customer’s purchase journey — exactly when the customer’s most likely to spend that extra dollar to sweeten the deal.
With more and more shopping moving online, companies that make this possible by connecting service providers with distributors of products are understandably seeing an uptick in interest, both from customers and investors. One such company, Singapore-based Bolttech, which acts as the connective tissue between insurers, distributors and their target customers, said on Wednesday it has closed a $147 million Series C round of funding at a $2.1 billion valuation.
The news comes six months after the company disclosed the first close of its Series C, around $100 million, led by Dragon Fund with participation from Baillie Gifford, Generali and other investors. Japanese conglomerate Sumitomo Corporation and Portuguese investment firm Iberis Capital are among those investing in the new tranche.
Founded in 2020 by Eric Gewirtzman and insurance veteran Rob Schimek, Bolltech specializes in embedded insurance — providing insurance or protection products that are integrated into the customer purchase experience. The company has grown fast with its B2B2C approach, quickly raising hundreds of millions in funding, and it says it now connects about 700 distribution partners with more than 230 insurers, covering over 6,500 products across the world.
As part of the Series C, Bolttech is also striking up a joint venture with Sumitomo to offer embedded insurance products and comprehensive “end-to-end services” to partners in Asia.
The startup plans to use the fresh cash to enhance its R&D capabilities, and improve its insurance technology, particularly in areas such as data analytics and AI. The funding will also be used to expand further in Africa and North America.
We noticed that there hasn’t been a noticeable uptick in the number of distribution partners and insurers Bolttech serves compared to the numbers it shared three years ago when it raised its Series B. But the company says its total annualized premiums have increased to approximately $60 billion as of April this year, up from around $55 billion in May 2023.
We’ve seen a host of embedded insurtech startups like Qover, Neat and Synctera coming up over the past few years, as more shopping has moved online since the pandemic and insurers try to adapt to changing consumer habits.
But Bolttech says it competes with both traditional insurers and a few technology-focused players. “Sometimes, the competition is simply taking the ‘do-it-yourself’ approach, where potential partners opt to build solutions in-house. However, we often speak about ‘coopetition’ (collaborative competition) because in a world with a growing protection gap, the opportunity is vast, and we believe the industry can achieve more by working together to expand access to insurance for customers everywhere,” Schimek told TechCrunch.
Bolttech’s investor base includes insurers such as Japan’s Tokio Marine and MetLife, and it has partnered with major names like Allianz, Apple, AXA, Liberty Mutual, Orange, Progressive, Lazada, Samsung, and Home Credit.
