ZUG, Switzerland, Dec. 15, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Stonestep,
the pioneering company offering Microinsurance as a Service,
announced it has secured $4M in
Series A funding from XL Innovate, a leading insurtech venture
fund. This financing allows Stonestep to establish its footprint in
Asia, beginning in Myanmar, and gives the company access to the
global skills and insurance capacity of XL Catlin. As part of the
round, Sarah Street, a director at
XL Innovate, will join Stonestep's board of directors.
Insurance today is optimized for households with tens or
hundreds of thousands of dollars in assets. Yet, in many emerging
markets, household assets often add up to less than $5,000. For
these households, smartphones, appliances, basic legal assistance,
and medical care represent steps to a better life -- yet in most
cases, households have no safety net in case of loss. Insuring such
events, economically and practically, requires a completely new
approach.
Stonestep streamlines the insurance value chain – from policy
underwriting to distribution to claims – in order to offer risk
products, often for the very first time, at mass market prices.
Stonestep partners with corporations such as mobile network
operators, retailers, and financial service providers, which have
an existing distribution presence. Working with these partners can
substantially reduce infrastructure costs, and opens the door to
insurance services that are accessible to even the most
geographically remote or disadvantaged consumer.
Stonestep's next generation insurance platform offers integrated
sales and customer experience tools, allowing clients to more
easily add insurance services alongside their usual product
offerings, while promoting brand loyalty and generating additional
revenues for their businesses. With tailor-made apps to help
distribute policies and administer claims, there is no need for new
operational structures on the part of companies, or new behaviors
on the part of consumers. Furthermore, Stonestep's platform offers
concrete services to resolve customer needs directly and quickly,
reducing the frictional costs associated with traditional
insurance.
Stonestep's Founder and CEO, Brandon
Mathews, is a published thought and business leader in
emerging market insurance, and has built large businesses for AIG
and Zurich in Latin American that
continue to serve tens of millions of customers. Stonestep is now
taking these proven insurance models to the next level through the
use technologies such as smartphones, microfinance, and digital
crypto-contracts.
"For most people around the world, life is extremely risky: if
people lose their home, they're not checking into a hotel. If they
have an accident, there's no ambulance. Stonestep's unique
insurance platform can cover such risks for emerging consumers, and
XL Innovate's investment will help us implement this solution,
beginning in Asia. Microinsurance
as a Service is a sustainable business model that can catalyze
economic growth for all levels of society," said Brandon Mathews, CEO of Stonestep.
"Reducing vulnerability of emerging consumers is good not only
for individuals and communities -- it's also good for companies
which rely on emerging markets for growth," said Sarah Street, Director at XL Innovate.
"Stonestep's team members are industry leaders who have pioneered
some of the industry's most successful methods. We are excited to
collaborate with them as they accelerate the growth of this
business in Asia."
Stonestep is headquartered in Zug, Switzerland. To learn more about the company,
visit www.stonestep.ch
About Stonestep:
Stonestep is a new property and
casualty insurtech startup that is changing how insurance is
delivered in emerging markets. With its revolutionary
'Microinsurance as a Service' platform, Stonestep enables mobile
network operators, retailers and other corporations to easily
diversify their services and generate additional revenue, by
offering risk products designed to address the needs of
first-generation insurance customers at an affordable price.
About XL Innovate:
XL Innovate is a venture capital
fund focused on investing in companies that address the world's
most complex risks with new technologies and products for the
insurance industry. Portfolio companies include Lemonade,
Cape Analytics, Slice Labs, Embroker, Notion and New Energy Risk.
XL Innovate provides companies with equity capital, unparalleled
experience in building new ventures in this specific space, and
access to XL Catlin's global insurance expertise and underwriting.
To learn more, visit www.xlinnovate.com.
About XL Group plc:
XL Group plc (NYSE:XL), through
its subsidiaries and under the XL Catlin brand, is a global
insurance and reinsurance company providing property, casualty and
specialty products to industrial, commercial and professional
firms, insurance companies and other enterprises throughout the
world. Clients look to XL Catlin for answers to their most complex
risks and to help move their world forward. To learn more, visit
www.xlcatlin.com.
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SOURCE XL Innovate