CHICAGO, IL – August 13, 2020 – Kin, the insurance technology company that makes home insurance easy and affordable, today announced a $35 million Series B round. The funding was led by Commerce Ventures with participation from Hudson Structured Capital Management Ltd. (doing its reinsurance business as HSCM Bermuda), Flourish Ventures, QED, Alpha Edison, Allegis NL Capital, Avanta Ventures (venture arm of CSAA Insurance Group, a AAA Insurer), August Capital, the University of Chicago via its Startup Investment Program, and others.
This round brings Kin’s total funding to date to $86 million. The investment comes less than a year after Kin received regulatory approval for the Kin Interinsurance Network (KIN), its reciprocal exchange – a form of insurance company that shares underwriting profits with customers. With its latest round of funding, the company plans to bring its solution, piloted in Florida, to homeowners across the U.S., starting with states most affected by severe weather.
"We believe in creating meaningful change for homeowners who need our solution the most," said Sean Harper, co-founder and CEO of Kin. "Since we established our carrier last summer, we have been able to innovate much faster because we depend less on legacy insurance infrastructure."
Whereas legacy insurers rely on outdated, inflexible technology, Kin’s proprietary platform allows the company to develop and launch new products in as little as a week, price risks in real time, and ingest more data than competitors. Kin’s technology also reduces general and administrative expenses, which constitute roughly 15% of premiums at legacy homeowner’s insurance companies.
Kin also differs from legacy companies by selling its products directly to consumers rather than through outside agents. Traditional insurers spend about 17% of premiums paying outside agents and maintaining the infrastructure to support them. By selling directly to consumers, Kin eliminates those costs.
"As early investors in Kin, we're excited to see how fast the company has grown from startup into a market-leader for directly marketed homeowner’s insurance," said Dan Rosen, founder of Commerce Ventures. "While many insurers spend much of their gross margin paying third-party agents, Kin has eliminated those costs, thus making the experience both simpler and more affordable for customers.”
By structuring as a reciprocal exchange, Kin has aligned interests with policyholders. Because policyholders actually own the exchange, they benefit when claims are low and have a voice in what the company does.
"We are excited to increase our investment in Kin and to continue to support the company’s mission to provide simple and affordable insurance coverage to homeowners," said Andrew Sagon, vice president with HSCM Bermuda. "Kin’s leadership team has done a commendable job of transferring structural efficiency gains to its customers in the form of more affordable coverage, and we are thrilled to support Kin’s efforts as the business enters its next phase of growth."
Kin’s web and mobile platform transforms the process of securing home insurance, making insurance more accessible than ever. This creates an insurance experience that is fast, easy, and driven by customer care.
"Avanta Ventures, the venture capital arm of CSAA Insurance Group, is excited to invest and partner with Kin Insurance that is successfully leveraging technology, data, and analytics to better understand risk and underwriting for homeowners insurance to benefit members," said Sanjiv Parikh, managing partner at Avanta Ventures.
"Kin is the insurance company that all the incumbents want to be," said Emmalyn Shaw, managing partner of Flourish Ventures. "With a relentless focus on customer needs and outstanding business execution, the A-rated company now offers the lowest-cost, most customizable products on the market and boasts an impressive NPS of 84, which is about double the industry average. If its success in the Florida homeowners market is an indication of what's to come, Kin is well positioned to become the next great national insurance firm."
To support its growth, Kin is actively hiring tech and sales talent in both Chicago, Illinois, and St. Petersburg, Florida. Learn more about joining Kin’s mission to change home insurance for the better at www.kin.com/careers.
About Kin
Kin Insurance is an insurance technology company that exists to change home insurance from what it is, to what it should be. Founded in 2016 by seasoned financial technology entrepreneurs Sean Harper and Lucas Ward, Kin leverages thousands of property data points to customize coverage and prices through a super simple user experience. Kin manages the Kin Interinsurance Network (KIN), a licensed insurance carrier and reciprocal exchange owned by its customers who share in the underwriting profit. Because of its efficient technology and direct-to-consumer model, Kin provides exceptionally low prices without compromising coverage. The company is headquartered in Chicago, Illinois, with an office in St. Petersburg, Florida, and is currently hiring in both offices. For more information, visit www.kin.com.
