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China internet giants in insurance. HealthSherpa picks up new funding. This week in insurance tech. 
China's digital insurance race

Hi there,

At JD.com's annual meeting last week, CEO Liu Qiangdong outlined JD's (NASDAQ: JD) plans to provide its own life and auto insurance products to customers.

It's worth looking back at how other Chinese internet giants have fared in insurance. Though Ant Financial acquired a majority stake in Cathay China in Sept. 2015 to obtain a license to develop insurance products, Baidu has yet to receive its license for its joint venture with Allianz and Hillhouse Capital announced in Nov. 2015.

Liu seems to be open to both. In JD Finance's case, the company "is currently applying for insurance licenses", but "may also acquire a company to obtain the required license."

Metromile looks to B2B?

Innovation was a key theme at Intact Financial's (TSE: IFC) investor day yesterday, and the Canadian insurer described what it's learned from startup partners and portfolio companies:



One of those companies is Metromile which, according to a recent job listing, is now interested in "reimagin(ing) enterprise software and build(ing) highly leveraged web and mobile products for insurers." Metromile announced it raised $153M in new funding in 2016 and acquired Mosaic Insurance for $22M.

New filings

Health insurance enrollment startup HealthSherpa recently said that it helped about 2% of the people who signed up for ACA coverage in 2017 and 750,000 people over the last three years.

While debate continues to swirl over the future of the ACA, our tracker picked up a new $6.6M financing to San Francisco-based HealthSherpa this week. More details at the bottom of this newsletter.

A filing picked up last week for contract-related insurance marketplace Bunker reflected a restructuring, in which existing securities were issued to a new entity, Bunker Technologies, and not a new financing round.

Have a great rest of the week,

Matt
@mlcwong


P.S. In NYC for LendIt next month? If you're a senior strategy, M&A or investment professional in financial services or a fintech VC/PE investor, we've got spots left at our dinner on March 6. Request an invite.

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Verisk adds another insurance-related acquisition

Verisk, one of the largest data analytics providers in the P&C insurance industry, has made more than 12 acquisitions since 2012.

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This Week in Insurance Tech 

A curated mix of recent articles on insurance tech financings, exits, hiring, product launches, partnerships, and perspectives.

Deals

HealthSherpa raises $6.6M. The health enrollment company recently announced more than 750,000 people have used its service to enroll in coverage. Core Innovation Capital's Kathleen Utecht is listed as a new director.
CB Insights / SEC

Sure raises $6.3M. The mobile insurance startup recently announced a partnership with Nationwide to distribute its renters insurance. IA Capital Group is a new investor.
Axios

In My Bag launches with funding from Hambro Perks. The UK startup provides protection for devices and device data.
Post Online

Neosurance raises €230k in pre-seed funding. The Italian startup aims to provide insurance companies with technology solutions to offer micro policies to their clients. 
FinSMEs

MetLife's LumenLab announces startups for Collab "matchmaking" program. The cohort includes previously venture-backed startups Shift Technology and Digital Fineprint.
e27


M&A

Sapiens acquires StoneRiver for $102M. StoneRiver provides policy administration software for P&C and life insurance customers.
Insurance Journal

Verisk acquires Healix Risk Rating. Healix provides automated medical risk assessment for the travel insurance industry. 
NJ Biz


Company & Insurer News

JD.com aims to launch insurance service. At JD's annual meeting, CEO Liu Qiangdong said its financial services arm would apply for an insurance license with life and auto insurance on its agenda.
South China Morning Post

Q&A with PolicyBazaar's Yashish Dahiya. The CEO of the online insurance comparison portal on IPO plans, demonetization and reaching profitability.
CNBC MoneyControl

IAG to open insurance tech hub in Singapore. Called Firemark Labs, the incubator will work with Asian- startups and research and technology providers.
Australia Financial Review


Blog posts & articles

Insurance bills rise as texters crash cars. The pace of premium increases has hit a 13-year high as more drivers on the road, costly parts and texting has led to bigger auto claims.
Bloomberg

The man behind Warren Buffett's big insurance bet. Profile on Berkshire Hathaway Specialty Insurance CEO Peter Eastwood.
WSJ
 
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