Startup Zego Becomes 1st U.K. Insurtech to Get Insurance License

Zego has become the first ever U.K. insurtech to be awarded its own insurance license, which will enable it to build and sell its own products.

While Zego will still work in tandem with its growing network of insurer partners, the license will enable the company to innovate with new policies and analyze and implement product changes in less than 24 hours.

Crucially, it will also give Zego the opportunity to harness the vast amount of data it collects to develop automated pricing technology – monitoring driver behavior and external data to offer policies priced in proportion to each customer’s true level of risk.

Zego’s insurance policies are being backed by 15 “A”-rated reinsurers, including Swiss Re. News of the license just comes five months after Zego raised $42 million in Series B funding – one of the largest funding rounds for a European insurtech start-up – to fuel its expansion across Europe.

The company was founded in 2016 to provide flexible insurance for the gig economy and has since expanded its B2B offering to cater to the fast-growing market of new mobility services, such as ride hailing, ride sharing, car rental and scooter sharing. Zego offers a range of customized policies from minute-by-minute insurance to annual cover, providing more flexibility than traditional insurers, with pricing based on usage data from vehicles. Zego said it has provided over 100 million hours of insurance protection to over 82,000 vehicles.

“This is a huge milestone for Zego and a clear signal that we are here to stay. The license is also an essential ingredient in our mission to transform the insurance sector, by creating flexible policies which better reflect risk and truly cater to the fast-evolving world of mobility,” said Sten Saar, CEO and co-founder of Zego.

“We have already started selling our own products but will continue to partner with other insurance companies, with this collaboration still a crucial part of our business model,” added Saar.

Simon Welton, market head P&C UK & Ireland at Swiss Re, said: “Swiss Re is very pleased to have been able to support Zego with our risk knowledge and reinsurance capacity. We have been impressed by Zego’s innovative and passionate approach to creating new insurance products which meet the changing needs of customers. We look forward to continuing to work with them in the future and supporting their growth plans.”

Zego is a trading name of Extracover Ltd., which is authorized and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.