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Startups

Next Insurance, a digital insurance company that focuses on small businesses, in October 2019 raised USD 250m from Munich Re. The Palo Alto, California-based, 3-year old startup became a licensed insurance carrier, shedding its brokerage business model, in August 2018. The capital raise will fund the development of new products and of customer initiatives. Next Insurance offers a wide range of insurance products, including including general liability; professional liability;

Zurich UK in January 2019 announced it was backing London, UK-based travel insurance startup Pluto. Pluto targets Millennials, an under-insured segment when it comes to travel insurance, with up to 60% of them traveling without insurance. The underwriting engine blocks people over the age of 46. Zurich provides underwriting and claims management; Pluto brings mobile-oriented software that gives clients a standard insurance quote in around one minute, or three

The Blockchain Insurance Industry Initiative (B3i) in March 2018 incorporated B3i Services AG in Zürich, Switzerland. B3i has been a collaborative initiative of 15 global insurers and reinsurers who came together in late 2016 to explore and test the potential of using Distributed Ledger Technologies within the re/insurance industry. B3i Services will provide insurance solutions on a blockchain platform, striving for improved speed, transparency, quality, security, and cost. It

European digital health insurance company Alan in April 2018 announced it has raised €23 million in Series A funding. Alan has two characteristics that sets it apart from most other insurtechs. First and foremost, it is a real, licensed insurance carrier that actually writes risks and mutualizes them. It is not acting as a broker or a services integrator or a business process outsourcer, like most insurtechs do. Second,

U.S. human capital data analytics company PredictiveHR (PHR), in March 2018 announced an alliance with TrenData, a developer of A.I.-driven people analytics software. This alliance includes a technology license agreement, an infusion of operating capital and a collaborative go-to-market strategy, and comes on the heels of a number of key client wins by PHR in 2017 extending into 2018. Headquartered in Boston, Massachusetts, PredictiveHR provides Human Resources and C-Level

U.S. health insurance start-up Oscar Health in March 2018 raised $165 million in a funding round led by Founders Fund to finance its expansion plans in four to five cities a year. This funding round was led by Brian Singerman and Founders Fund and includes 8VC, Verily Life Sciences, Fidelity, General Catalyst, Capital G, Khosla Ventures, Thrive Capital, and others. Oscar Health claims it has generated an underwriting profit

Zenefits in June 2016 announced it will cut 106 jobs, or about 9% of its workforce, and close an Arizona sales operation as it addresses licensing and governance issues. GBV in February 2016 had published another report on Zenefits, Zenefits hits more turbulence. In total, Zenefits has now announced about 350 layoffs or approximately one quarter of its workforce, mostly in sales; including resignations, there remain fewer than 1,100