Flock, a London-based InsurTech startup that provides usage-based insurance for fleets of commercial vehicles, has raised $17m funding in Series A round bringing its total funding to $22m.
Leading the round was Social Capital, a Californian investment firm run by Virgin Galactic chairman Chamath Palihapitiya who has been an early backer of Slack, Tesla, and Bitcoin. Existing investors including Anthemis and Dig Ventures also participated.
Founded by Antton Peña, and Ed Leon Klinger in 2015, the UK-based InsurTech started operations in the commercial drone industry, where it launched a pay-as-you-fly drone insurance product, using real-time data, like population density and wind speed, to quantify, insure, and mitigate drone flight risks.
Last year, the company expanded into commercial motor fleets, launching a real-time insurance product for car rental platforms, courier companies, and corporate fleets. Unlike traditional annual policies, Flock provides insurance with the help of a real-time, data-driven approach. Meaning, the company provides insurance to the connected vehicle on a per-second basis.
Flock uses its proprietary risk engine, which ingests large amounts of real-time data such as vehicle sensor and location data, hyperlocal weather, traffic conditions, and accident data, to accurately quantify risks on a per-second basis. Besides the insurance policy, Flock provides its customers with free insights to reduce their risks. When customers improve their safety, Flock rewards them with significantly cheaper prices; some Flock fleet customers are now saving more than 25% on their premiums.
In its first year, commercial fleet revenues have grown 38x. Flock said its drone insurance book made up more than 35% of the UK commercial drone market, with clients including the BBC, Netflix and the National Health Service. Motor insurance clients include Jaguar Land Rover and Virtuo, Europe’s on-demand car rental app.
The Covid-19 pandemic had spurred demand for its product, as fleet managers were able to save on insurance costs when business lockdowns left cars unused, Klinger said.
Klinger added, “Transportation is changing faster than ever, but the traditional insurance industry can’t keep up! The proliferation of electric cars, new business models such as ridesharing, and the emergence of autonomous vehicles pose huge challenges that traditional insurers just aren’t equipped for.
“Modern fleets need an equally modern insurance company that moves as fast as they do. Commercial motor insurance is a $160B market, crying out for disruption. The opportunity ahead of us is enormous.
Echoing a similar sentiment, Palihapitiya stated, “Flock is bridging the gap between today’s insurance industry and tomorrow’s transportation realities. By using real-time data to truly understand vehicle risk, Flock is meeting the demands of our rapidly evolving, hyper-connected world. Flock has the potential to help unlock and enable a truly autonomous world, and even save lives. We’re excited to be a part of their journey.”
As a part of the funding round, Justin Saslaw, Social Capital’s FinTech Partner, will be joining Flock’s Board of Directors, alongside Founder of Dig Ventures & MuleSoft Ross Mason.
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