By Steve O'Hear
Urban Jungle, a digital insurance startup targeting so-called “generation rent” with a range of insurance products, has raised £2.5 million in a seed funding round.
The round is said to be backed by a mixture of new and previous investors, including Rob Devey, the former CEO of Prudential UK, and Simon Rogerson, CEO of Octopus Group.
Described as challenging traditional insurance providers by catering to U.K. renters who have historically been underserved by the insurance industry, Urban Jungle offers contents insurance, gadget insurance and tenant-liability policies.
This includes a contents insurance product focused on house and flat sharers. The startup also offers a pay-as-you-go policy, and says it is committed to transparent pricing policy terms.
“We are fixing home insurance, which has a load of problems to work on,” says Urban Jungle co-founder Jimmy Williams. “Of all of the types of personal insurance, it’s still the one most bought and managed offline, mostly through estate agents, banks and mortgage brokers. Prices are high, terms are complex and there are fees for everything.”
Alongside this, Williams says customers are often asked far too many questions about things that are outside their control, which they resent, and are becoming increasingly aware of outdated and unfair pricing. “Much of this is caused by insurers’ inability to use new sources of data appropriately,” he adds.
In contrast, Urban Jungle aims to be cheaper and easier for customers to buy, manage and claim. It also wants to provide cover better suited to customers’ needs.
“All of this is enabled through technology,” says Williams. “We automate the vast majority of processes to make things super quick, and keep our costs very low. We also use data in smart ways to customise the cover we offer to customers, and make pricing fairer.”
To that end, Urban Jungle claims 15,000 plus customers and says it’s growing more than 30% per month. Meanwhile, today’s newly disclosed funding brings the total raised by the U.K. company to £3.7 million to date.
Source. TechCrunch, Steve O'Hear, May 6, 2019
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