io.insure expands into US after Australian launch

io.insure, a specialty insurance online marketplace for small and medium-sized mergers and acquisitions (M&A), has expanded into the US after a successful launch in Australia earlier this year.

The platform will soon be expanded to the UK, Europe and Asia, with financial lines and other specialty products to be announced in the near future.

io.insure says it bridges a gap in the niche M&A segment for SMEs, where there is a scarcity of insurance capacity and inefficient processes due to a focus on higher value transactions. The platform was piloted in the Australian market before being expanded globally.

Co-Founder David Rogers recently told insuranceNEWS.com.au Australia was a great market to establish a starting base.

“We like the SME profile of the overall market which aligns well with our strategy to fill the gap of the SME M&A market,” he said.

Part of insurtech conglomerate POP Holdings Group, io.insure says it is transforming the global specialist insurance experience through partnerships with advisers, insurance brokers, accounting firms, corporate financiers, and banks. Its marketplace delivers niche products to customers, enabled by a combination of expertise, data and technology, and a licensed insurance infrastructure.

Io.insure has a global partnership with Fusion Specialty and currently serves markets from seven underwriting, distribution or tech hubs across five continents.

Mr Rogers says over a quarter of SME owners in Australia are aged 65 and over, signalling a significant impending transfer of wealth, with Mr Rogers estimating $4 trillion in assets and 350,000 Australian SMEs may transfer over the next decade.

“There is a risk protection gap in this SME M&A segment, with a scarcity of insurance capacity, inefficient processes and the ecosystem focusing on mid to large sized companies instead,” he said. “Given the size of the opportunity we believe a marketplace is the key to delivering solutions.”

io.insure also has a parametric digital business interruption business in the UK which the team are working on bringing to Australia, and plans to expand into those lines across the US and Europe as well.

“We are building a leading ecosystem that connects customers, advisers/distributors and insurer partners through an insurance marketplace, enabled by an exchange of expert people,” it says.