Finance

More seed and pre-seed rounds in the final month of the year.

In case you missed it, insurtech -- technology developed to improve and transform the insurance industry -- is having a bit of a moment. Forrester recently reported record-breaking funding for insurtechs, closing Q3 at $15 billion - more funding than in 2019 and 2020 combined - with more deals anticipated by the end-of-year.

During, “The View from Venture Capital,” at the Digital Insurance DIGIN conference, Dec. 10, three experts involved in venture capital firms discussed what they look for when funding a company and what’s ahead for the industry.

The second year of the pandemic unleashed unprecedented exogenous challenges for financial companies heading into 2022. What core trends will shape the industry moving forward?

As the wave of SPAC mergers crested in the past two years, startups that chose this path found it difficult to keep up with more established companies and investor expectations. The insurtech companies that went this route are not exempt from experiencing that strain.

There were an equal amount of rounds of more than $20 million and seed or pre-seed rounds.

The Dutch company will use some of its surplus cash to add scale organically to the global auto business, Chief Executive Officer Bob Van Dijk said in an interview.

Addition Capital, Coatue Management and serial entrepreneur Elad Gil led the funding round in the Mountain View, California-based company, now worth $3.6 billion -- nearly triple the valuation from another round last year.

The funding round was led by AIA Insurance Inc. as Tiki looks to expand into life insurance and plans a U.S. initial public offering.

There were nine rounds of more than $20 million this month.

A crucial point that many businesses engaged in the B2B sharing economy are increasingly aware of is that engagement often carries considerable liability risk, which is why it is of utmost importance for businesses to insure against this risk with robust verification services.

The Palo Alto, California-based company is now valued at $900 million, according to people with knowledge of the matter.

Australian insurance startup Cover Genius Pty Ltd. boosted its valuation to A$1 billion ($729 million), after raising A$100 million from investors including G Squared and Japanese insurer Sompo Holdings Inc.

Thiel invested more than $20 million in HySpecIQ LLC, the startup said. The cash will enable the Herndon, Virginia-based company to build and launch two satellites with cameras featuring advanced sensors to peer through solid objects in early 2023.

Truepic Inc., which helps companies like banks and insurers fight fraud by verifying images, raised $26 million in a funding round led by Microsoft Corp.’s M12 venture capital arm.

In other news: Cowbell Cyber releases API; Discount Tire, Motorq offer data analytics platform; and Roamly announces new hire and expansion plan.

There were about 12 funding rounds in the insurtech sector in August 2021, according to a review by Digital Insurance and with data from Crunchbase.

DealerPolicy, which functions as an insurance agency in the lower 48 states, connects car buyers with insurance quotes.

Its the biggest investment the vehicle has made to date in South African startups.

There were about 36 funding rounds in the insurtech sector in July, according to a review by Digital Insurance and with data from Crunchbase.