MassMutual is a mutual life insurance company that provides investment management and trust services. The company also offers life insurance, disability income insurance, long-term care insurance, executive benefits products, annuities, mutual funds, and retirement and savings products.MassMutual was established in 1851 and is headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts.

MassMutual

Newark Venture Partners invests in seed-stage B2B software companies based on data-driven and thematically oriented convictions, reinforced by industry insights and relationships.  Our tight-knit team of investment professionals executes with a startup mindset, putting decades of operational experience to support entrepreneurs throughout the journey of building a business.

Newark Venture Partners

Two Lanterns Venture Capital offers pre-seed, seed, and Series A investments in high-impact startups.

Two Lanterns Venture Capital

MassMutual Impact Investing is an impact-driven venture capital firm. Our MassMutual Catalyst Fund targets a dual-prong approach to creating impact on the entrepreneurial environment in Massachusetts: 1) enabling the growth of technology and sustainability driven business in less-developed regions of the commonwealth and 2) driving growth and capital for business expansion into financially underserved Black businesses.

MassMutual Impact Investing

Plug and Play is a seed and early-stage investor focused on great teams leading emerging growth companies.  Plug and Play runs 12 industry-specific accelerator programs twice a year, that acts as a platform for major corporations and high quality startups to connect and collaborate.  Located in the heart of Silicon Valley, Plug and Play participates in Seed, Angel and Series A funding where they often co-invest with their strategic partners. Through years of experience and as part of their network, Plug and Play has put together a world-class network of serial entrepreneurs, strategic investors, and industry leaders who actively assist the firm with its successful and growing investment portfolio.  SEED ROUND. Plug and Play participates in seed round investing through a program called Startup Camp. Startup Camp is a 10-week program based in Silicon Valley for top-notch entrepreneurs to work intensively on building out their business model. Select startups will refine their business models and prototypes with help from a combination of structured workshops, speaker series and mentorship sessions, as well as active coaching from their investment team. At the culmination of Startup Camp, founders will have crystalized their business plans and pitched their company to the venture capital community at EXPO Demo Day.''  ANGEL ROUND Plug and Play makes angel round investments throughout the year, sourced from their monthly Plug and Play Angels (PAPA) sessions. They are partnered with local angel investors in Silicon Valley who participate in PAPA to find the most promising startups and best new technologies.  SERIES A. Series A typical Series A round is in the range of $2 million to $10 million, and is intended to provide operating capital for the company for six months to two years. This round capitalizes the company as it develops its products, performs initial marketing and branding, acquires talent, and conducts other early-stage business operations. It is in this stage that Plug and Play will co-invest with over 180 venture capital partners.  Plug and Play has helped grow market leaders such as PayPal, Danger, Google, DropBox, LendingClub, Zoosk, SoundHound, CreditSesame, Skytree, and has over 400 more early-stage startups in its portfolio.

Plug and Play

Sure Ventures is a seed-stage venture capital firm investing in the insurtech industry. The firm invests with a mission to enable peace of mind for all individuals and businesses.  Its main areas of focus are insurance, aging, mental health, wealth management, and related sectors.

Sure Ventures

A Pre-seed to Series A fund focused on InsurTech, FinTech and Enterprise Applications

Cameron Ventures

Aperture Venture Capital is VC for the Multicultural Mainstream. We back diverse founders leveraging financial innovation to help individuals and businesses thrive.

Aperture Venture Capital

MassMutual Catalyst Fund is building a diversified portfolio of early-stage and mid-stage companies.

MassMutual Catalyst Fund

Surround Insurance

Surround Insurance is an InsurTech company that offers property and casualty insurance products for young urban professionals. The company was founded in 2018 by Jonathon Grayson and Kate Terry and is headquartered in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States.

<div>Surround is a digital insurance provider that provides personalized bundled insurance targeted towards asset-light individuals. The company offers rented auto insurance, home renters insurance, biking/walking insurance and professional liability insurance (for freelancers).</div>

New insurance models are disrupting a centuries-old industry with a focus on personalization and convenience.

Neo Insurance

<div>
 
 Surround is a digital insurance provider that provides personalized bundled insurance targeted towards asset-light individuals. The company offers rented auto insurance, home renters insurance, biking/walking insurance and professional liability insurance (for freelancers).
 
 
 As of November 2022, the company only offered its products in Massachusetts directly and through independent agents such as NerdWallet. It had plans to expand its offerings to eight additional states in early 2023.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 The company raised 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/14814?industryIds=36">
 USD 2.5 million in seed funding
 </a>
 in November 2022, led by MassMutual through its MM Catalyst Fund, with participation from Aperture VC, Newark Venture Partners, and Cameron Ventures. It aimed to utilize the fresh funds to expand its product portfolio and its distribution footprint.
 
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<div>
 
 Root Insurance is a full-stack insurance provider focusing on usage-based automobile insurance. The company offers a mobile app that collects data on driving speeds, braking patterns, and driving times using smartphone sensors, and applies artificial intelligence (AI) and predictive models to offer a personalized premium to the customer. The company claimed that the latest model utilizes double the proprietary data, demonstrating 17% greater predictive capabilities than the previous model. Moreover, the app incentivizes safe driving by providing greater insight into one&rsquo;s driving patterns and issuing additional discounts for improved driving behavior. Root allows customers to file claims directly through the mobile app. As of December 2021, Root held a carrier license in 48 states and offered automobile insurance in 32 states&mdash;most recently in Kansas.
 
 
 In July 2019, Root launched its renters&rsquo; insurance product and expanded to homeowners insurance in May 2020. The homeowners&rsquo; insurance is provided through a partnership with Homesite Insurance, a Boston-based property and casualty insurer that will underwrite any homeowners insurance policies issued by Root. As of June 2021, the company&rsquo;s renters&rsquo; insurance product was available in eight states.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Root had 203,840 policies in force as of June 2023.
 
 
 Root entered into a partnership with Carvana in July 2022, to offer usage-based auto insurance policies on the latter&rsquo;s used-car online platform.
 
 
 In addition, it had also collaborated with other players in the insurance space to optimize and digitize its insurance services.In January 2021, Root partnered with Tractable, a UK-based provider of AI-based solutions, to leverage its AI Subro solution to optimize Root&rsquo;s end-to-end claims process, starting with subrogation, where two insurance carriers negotiate the division of expenses when multiple parties are involved in a claim. It also partnered with CCC Intelligence Solutions in February 2023, to use its first-party casualty solution to streamline and digitize first- and third-party casualty claims through a single digital workflow.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In October 2020, Root sold 26.8 million shares in its initial public offering (IPO), raising USD 724.4 million in the process at a valuation of USD 6.8 billion. In 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/8089">
 January 2022
 </a>
 , Root received a five-year term loan of USD 300 million from BlackRock Financial Management (BlackRock) to extend its debt maturity and improve its liquidity position.
 
 
 For the full year of 2022, Root reported total revenue of USD 310.8 million (down 10.0% YoY), while its net losses improved to USD 297.7 million from a loss of USD 521.1 million in 2021. Its gross loss ratio improved to 82.1% from 86.0% in 2021.
 
 
 
</div>

Root Insurance

<div>
 
 Cambridge Mobile Telematics (CMT) launched its mobile-focused usage-based insurance (UBI) platform in 2012, enabling insurers to build their own UBI products. The company&rsquo;s product suite includes a white-label mobile app (DriveWell) and an Internet of Things (IoT) tag that collects telematics data that insurers can use to assess risk, incentivize behavioral change through gamification, and reconstruct crashes for accurate claims processing. The app also notifies insurers instantly during an accident, allowing them to dispatch help and begin the claims process. It also enables insurers to detect fraudulent claims based on telematics data.
 
 
 In June 2021, the company acquired TrueMotion, a developer of telematics solutions for auto insurance, for an undisclosed amount. Founded in 2012, TrueMotion helps insurers develop their own usage-based insurance products by allowing developers to build mobile apps on top of its platform which collects information from smartphone sensors in relation to an individual's driving behavior. The platform also includes telematic data features to file claims using the app and other value-added services such as good driving incentives and quick accident responses following a crash. TrueMotion&rsquo;s telematics solution can also be used by fleet operators to monitor the driving patterns of its drivers. Through the acquisition, the two companies will combine their products to bolster CMT&rsquo;s offerings and expand the company&rsquo;s geographical reach. 
 
 
 In addition, CMT acquired Amodo, a turnkey usage-based auto insurance solutions provider based in Europe 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16753">
 in March 2023
 </a>
 , for an undisclosed amount. Following the acquisition, Amodo will operate under the CMT brand and will gain access to its advanced telematics solutions. Through the acquisition, CMT aimed to accelerate its global reach and strengthen its position in Europe.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 As of March 2023, CMT&rsquo;s technology-powered 95 enterprise programs across 25 countries including nine in continental Europe. In addition, its solutions are used by 21 of the top 25 insurers in the US, including insurers such as StateFarm, Liberty Mutual, and Progressive. CMT&rsquo;s solutions are also used by rideshare companies and large fleet operators.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 The company&rsquo;s last funding round was in December 2018, where it raised USD 500 million from SoftBank&rsquo;s Vision Fund, with plans to expand its platform.
 
</div>

Cambridge Mobile Telematics

<div>
 
 Hippo is a digital homeowner insurance provider. The company offers its homeowner policies online, with each policy accompanied by a complementary smart home monitoring system that will help identify risks proactively. It provides coverage using a combination of machine learning, satellite imagery, and other public records and actively reviews for any changes to the property overtime.
 
 
 Hippo also provides home insurance to buyers of newly built homes that is directly integrated to the digital mortgage and title process through its Builders business. Further, it launched 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/16051">
 Hippo Builder Insurance Agency (HBIA)
 </a>
 in January 2023, to allow builders of all sizes to partner with HBIA to send leads of homeowners in return for a fee.
 
 
 The company also offers an on-demand homecare and maintenance app (Hippo Homecare) which it launched in 2019 following the acquisition of Sheltr, a home maintenance platform, during the same year. It also launched &ldquo;Book a Pro'' feature within its mobile app in Q4 2022, which allows homeowners based in Texas to connect to home improvement professionals as well as message its Hippo&rsquo;s own home care experts to get advice. Hippo also plans to roll-out this feature to other states in the future.
 
 
 In June 2020, Hippo entered into an agreement to acquire long-time insurance partner Spinnaker Insurance Company, which is a property and casualty insurer registered in all 50 states, for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition was expected to help the company expand its geographical reach. The company&rsquo;s homeowner offering was available in 40 states as of January 2023.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 Hippo had 332,000 customers as of September 2022, and it claimed nearly 75% of its new customers were Gen B.
 
 
 The company partnered with property and casualty risk intelligence company, 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/17629">
 Opterrix in April 2023
 </a>
 , to leverage its real-time data on severe weather events to identify at-risk policyholders and improve its claims management capabilities.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In November 2020, Hippo raised USD 350 million from Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance company. The company expects to use this funding to support its national expansion plans and also evaluate acquisition opportunities to grow inorganically.
 
 
 For FY2022, the company recorded total generated premiums of USD 811.1 million, which was up 33.8% YoY. Its gross loss ratio improved 62 percentage points to 76% during the year, while its net loss improved 10.2% YoY to USD 333.4 million.
 
 
 
 
 
</div>

Hippo Insurance

Clearcover is a fully digital automobile insurance provider that offers insurance coverage and claims filing using online channels along with other value-added services such as roadside assistance. The company leverages AI and machine learning models to provide personalized pricing to its customers and validate claims. The company states that it can handle 96% of all claims virtually. Clearcover also launched a <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/27767">GenAI-powered claims intake tool</a> to navigate a conversation-driven experience after First Notice of Loss (FNOL) to collect information about an accident. The tool available through its mobile app includes a claims assistant and a real-time customer question resolution feature. It plans to incorporate the tool into its agent portal and website in the future.Clearcover also uses an application programming interface (API) to offer embedded car insurance. This powers <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/21232">Choice, </a>an end-to-end embedded auto insurance solution that allows brands to provide auto insurance policy options from various carriers to their customers.As of January 2024, Clearcover offered its policies in 19 states in the US.Key customers and partnershipsIn May 2020, Clearcover partnered with claims management solution vendor Snapsheet to fully digitize its own claims function from First Notification of Losses (FNOLs) to disbursements. Moreover, it collaborated with Experian to offer car insurance on the latter’s insurance comparison site <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/18045">in April 2023 </a>. This was part of Clearcover’s strategy to expand its distribution channels.Fundings and financialsIn April 2021, the company raised USD 200 million in a Series D funding round, led by Eldridge, at a valuation in excess of USD 1 billion. The company expects to use the funding toward product development and increasing headcount.For FY2022, the company generated total direct premiums written of USD 140.7 million (up 79% YoY) and recorded USD 61.4 million in net premiums earned. Its net losses amounted to USD 38.7 million for the year, while its loss ratio and combined loss ratios stood at 115% and 158%, respectively.

Clearcover

<div>
 
 Shift Technology, based in France, provides a Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solution for insurers to automate claims and detect fraud during the underwriting and claims processing stages. The company’s platform uses artificial intelligence (AI) and a combination of internal and third-party data to flag potentially fraudulent claims. Furthermore, it provides a white-label mobile app that takes advantage of the company’s fraud detection capabilities and enables insurers to streamline their entire claims functions from First Notification of Losses (FNOLs) to disbursements. In addition to France, the company maintains regional offices in the US, Japan, the UK, Spain, and Singapore.
 
 
 Key customers and partnerships
 
 
 As of May 2021, the company had a workforce of 350 people, and it claimed to have analyzed ~2 billion claims globally. It also worked with more than 100 customers across 25 countries, including insurance companies such as AXA, Generali France, and Mitsui Sumitomo. 
 
 
 Shift collaborated with big data provider Legentic in April 2022, through which it aimed to allow its customers access structured data to minimize fraudulent claims and improve claims processing times. It also formed strategic partnerships to integrate its product as part of other insurtech’s product offerings such as with Sapiens, providing the latter’s customers with alerts regarding fraudulent claims.
 
 
 Funding and financials
 
 
 In May 2021, Shift Technology raised 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/2834">
 USD 220 million in a Series D 
 </a>
 funding in a round led by Advent International at a valuation of over USD 1 billion. The company expected to use the funding to expand its presence in the property and casualty market and also venture into other insurance verticals such as health. The funding was to also be channeled toward accelerating business growth in the US. In November 2021, the company received an undisclosed investment from Guidewire, as an 
 <a href="https://sp-edge.com/updates/6418">
 extension to its Series D
 </a>
 round. The company was to use the new funds to further develop its technology and support its go-to-market strategies.
 
</div>

Shift Technology

IoTs used to proactively mitigate risks and offer usage-based insurance

Used for underwriting and claims; infrastructure providers offer AI/ML products to traditional insurers

Limited number of life insurers use genetic/epigenetics to underwrite life insurance

Uses personal data to underwrite and price personalized policies such as usage-based insurance for vehicles

Infrastructure and embedded solutions are offered under a B2B SaaS model

Startups in the automobile insurance space, predominantly providing usage-based insurance using telematics devices and/or smartphone sensors.

Startups that offer homeowners and renters insurance using artificial intelligence (AI) and smart home devices to issue policies and validate claims.

Surround Insurance

Neo Insurance

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Surround Insurance raises USD 2.5 million in seed funding

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