VCs back digital insurance merger

Oscar Geen
03 July 2017

Tweet
Facebook
LinkedIn
Google plus
Send to

A group of VCs led by Orange Growth Capital has backed the merger of Switzerland-based Knip and Netherlands-based Komparu to form The Digital Insurance Group.

Previous Knip investors Route 66 Ventures, Red Alpine and QED are also providing funding to support the merger.

Knip CEO Dennis Just will step down and Ingo Weber will become CEO of the new group. Weber most recently served as managing director for German comparison platform Verivox and previously held posts at Swiss Re and GE Insurance.

Post-merger, the company expects to capture a third of the €1.1tn European insurance market.

The new company will have 70 employees and aims to increase market share by combining Knip's consumer-facing and CRM tools with Komparu's transactional frameworks.

Previous funding
In October 2014, Orange Growth Capital led a series-A round for Knip. Red Alpine also participated in the funding round.

In October 2016, both VCs reinvested along with Creathor Venture Management, QED and Route 66 to provide the company with a $15.7m series-B round.

Company
Founded in 2013 and based in Zurich, Knip is a mobile insurance manager. Its overview shows existing insurance policies, tariffs and services. It analyses new customers' insurance coverage and recommends how to improve their individual insurance protection. The company had 80 employees in 2016.

Komparu was also founded in 2013 and is based in Amsterdam. It provides software to insurance companies, brokers and publishers including UMG Group, Sanoma, Awin and Achmea. It became profitable in Q4 2016 after experiencing 400% growth in the preceding 12 months.

People
The Digital Insurance Group – Ingo Weber (CEO); Roeland Werring (CTO).
Knip – Dennis Just (CEO).
Komparu – Ruben Troostwijk (CEO).