Three insurers invest in home telematics provider Roost

Insurtech Roost has announced $10.4 million in Series B funding from three insurers and other investors.

The startup’s latest financial contributions were highlighted by the venture arms of Desjardins Insurance, Chinese carrier Fosun Group and first-time investor Aviva, which led the round. All three are existing Roost customers.

“This commitment is a strong validation of Roost’s value proposition as a leader in the emerging home telematics insurance segment,” CEO Roel Peeters said, in a statement.

The new capital brings the insurtech’s total funding to $17 million since 2013, and will be used to expand product development and services for its customers, it says. Liberty Mutual, USAA and home insurance startup Hippo are some of Roost’s other notable industry clients.

Earlier this year, Roost also partnered with Willis Towers Watson to create a home telematics consortium where participants receive 10,000 technology kits to distribute to policyholders. Towers Watson then runs data analytics to identify potential areas of insurance product enhancement. In return, the startup expedites the distribution of its products, Peeters said in June.

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Roost provides smart batteries , smoke alarms as well as water leak and freeze devices to insurance customers. Aviva, Desjardins and Fosun all report improved customer engagement and retention since partnering with the Sunnyvale, California-based company. The carriers have also witnessed a reduction in claims costs.

“In the UK, we have been offering Roost smart batteries to our home insurance customers,” said Aviva Ventures’ managing director, Ben Luckett. “I am excited about how this investment supports our ambition to empower our customers to prevent bad things from happening, rather than fixing it when something goes wrong.”

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Telematics Insurtech Venture funding Start-up funding Analytics Claims Willis Towers Watson
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