InsurTech firm Fenris Digital raised $2.7m in a funding round led by IDEA Fund Partners.
Previous investors Six-Thirty VC, CIT GAP Funds and Rezon8 Capital along with new investors BrokerTech Ventures and Alerion Ventures took part as well.
The startup aims to use this funding to meet the growing demand from clients for its API-delivered insights and data, with a strong focus on expanding its sales and marketing resources.
Founded in 2016, the InsurTech firm provides software and predictive analytics to help insurers streamline applications while preserving underwriting integrity and accuracy. The company’s API leverages alternative data and machine learning to enable instant insight and enrichment on every applicant and policyholder.
Given that the Life Insurance Marketing and Research Association (LIMRA) estimated that $340bn in new life insurance coverage will be needed every year, the market is indeed ripe for innovation. Nearly half of companies in the sector have reported growth in policy sales in the past year as 36% of Americans admit they intend to purchase life insurance in the next 12 months per LIMRA’s research.
The firm added that the ongoing pandemic has added to the already scaling InsurTech sector. Covid-19 has impacted life insurance demand and consumers prefer companies that offer digital services, it said.
Highlighting the company’s growth path, Fenris CEO Jennifer Linton said, “Now more than ever, financial institutions and insurers need to remove the barriers of entry for consumers to do business with them. Fenris is serving agencies, brokerages, carriers, and financial services providers of auto, home, life and small business commercial insurance with our APIs. Fenris has demonstrated its impact on increasing conversion rates and reducing manual entry for what has historically been a large frustration point driving up costs of acquisition.”
Echoing a similar sentiment, IDEA Fund Partners managing partner John Cambrier added, “Fenris has all of the key attributes we look for in terms of market, team, technology, and momentum. While existing players like LexisNexis, Verisk and Experian do a strong business in insurance data, Fenris is more flexible, easier to implement, and has proprietary scoring algorithms to serve use cases more broadly than the incumbents.”
The funding comes after it raised $1.7m in September 2019. Fenris Digital also participated in the 2016 cohort of Lighthouse Labs, a Richmond nonprofit business accelerator that provides equity-free funding and mentorship to startup ventures.
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