Cover Genius sells 10 million policies, doubles local team

Insurtech Cover Genius says a “momentous” year of growth has pushed its policy sales past 10 million, seen the size of its team in Australia and New Zealand nearly double and sales of XCover – which is available on Amazon – rocket.

Cover Genius champions “embedded” insurance and has partnerships with global brands in multiple industries. It says its award winning XCover distribution platform is suited to any line of insurance or warranty while XClaim is an interface for instant payment of approved claims.

Founded in 2014 by CEO Angus McDonald and Chris Bayley, a first employee in Google’s Sydney office where he managed the insurance team, it is now licensed in more than 60 countries and almost every US state, to be valued by Bloomberg at $1 billion after tripling its gross written premium.

“Following a year of substantial growth, we are delighted to have reached this major milestone, which further shows that the majority of digital customers want the convenience of protection when purchasing items or signing up to a service from their favourite brands,” Mr McDonald said.

“Having helped partners integrate protection for almost a decade, we understand that it’s the key to making insurance relevant for customers and brands – which are best placed to curate it for each individual’s needs.”

Cover Genius’ many partnerships span travel brands Booking.com, Skyscanner and Agoda; airlines Ryanair and Icelandair; global retailers Flipkart, Shopee and eBay; property technology company Rhino; auto and mobility brand Ola; fintech Intuit; logistics brands Descartes ShipRush and Freightos; and ticketing company AXS.

Cover Genius says the surge in policies sold for its retail partners indicates an overwhelming number of consumers are shopping online and buying protection for purchases. Travel partner sales spiked, signalling travellers are looking to protect their trips against the unexpected after disruption from covid.

In September, Cover Genius secured $100 million in a Series C round to fuel international expansion, led by Japan’s insurance group Sompo Holdings, which says the “disruptive approach” to insurance benefits customers via a seamless digital experience, and partners who can provide their customers global, expandable insurance offerings with dynamic pricing and product recommendations.

Cover Genius says it will use the capital raised to expand its global insurance distribution platform and support new e-commerce, property, travel, mobility, auto, B2B and financial services partners.

It employs almost 300 staff, with 118 in Australia, according to LinkedIn, and has offices in Sydney, New York, San Francisco, London, Amsterdam, Tokyo, Singapore, Seoul, Kuala Lumpur and Manila.

Its Australian resident policies are underwritten by Sydney-based Assetinsure or Pacific International Insurance, owned by Badger International.