Superscriptan insurance brokerage and technology platform targeting SMEs and “high-growth” technology companies, has raised £45 million ($54 million) in a Series B funding round
Founded in London in 2015, Superscript consists of two core insurance businesses: an online “self-service” platform available to UK customers, including SMEs, sole traders and landlords, and a recommended brokerage service called SuperscriptQ that is available in the UK and throughout the European Economic Area (HONOR). This targets technology companies with complex risks that are more difficult to insure, such as medical malpractice or professional indemnity, with clients such as London-based fintech unicorn Paddle.
The acceptance factor
As with just about every other industry, the underwriting industry has been hit hard by the global economic downturn, with the likes of Policygenius and Next insurance all have cut their workforces in the past year, while publicly traded companies such as Lemonade, Hippo and Root all traded well below par.
But for every yin, there’s a yang, and there are signs that the insurtech world is alive and well. Germany’s Wefox raised $400 million last year at a $4.5 billion valuation, while Ohio-based Branch achieved unicorn status thanks to a $147 million raise. And now it’s Superscript’s turn to remind the world that maybe insurtech is doing just fine after all.
But what separates the wheat from the chaff in insurtech: Why do some float while others flounder?
“Insurance has a more complex value chain than most technology companies in that you need to focus on both your acquisition strategy and the ongoing performance of the policies you sell,” Superscript co-founder and CEO Cameron Shearer explained to businessroundups.org. “While rapid customer growth is generally seen as a good thing, claims – in other words, losses – will accumulate over time if adoption isn’t right. If you have long-term debt, you may not experience the ‘true’ results of the company for several years.”
Superscript co-founders Ben Rose (Chief Underwriting Officer) and Cameron Shearer (CEO)
Superscript’s underwriting partners include a range of well-known names in the insurance industry, including AXA, Beazley At Lloyd’s, RSA and MS Amlin. And this multi-carrier approach, which encompasses regions and industry-specific expertise, is part of why Shearer thinks Superscript is well positioned to thrive because it appears to be able to scale in the long run. It’s all about providing tailored coverage for the types of risk that SMEs specifically need.
“Historically, many investors have mirrored tech investment models and focused on acquisition,” Shearer added. “More recently, now with the knowledge of more mature insurtechs and a number of IPO experiences, we’ve seen investors shift their focus to differentiation and strength in insurance. Superscript has focused on sustainable growth and quality assurance from day one to provide us with more favorable loss ratios. Advanced acceptance, technology and data capabilities enable us to deliver a highly personalized user and acceptance experience.”
From a technology and data perspective, Superscript says it uses “proprietary machine learning technology” to differentiate itself, including during the acquisition and onboarding process in its self-service product that directs potential customers to the right channels. And big data insights are also a big part of its promise, using machine learning models to “more accurately” price its risks by analyzing a range of data points.
“Other parts of our technology look at data we’ve collected about the insurance market to assess the likelihood of where risks are likely to be accepted by insurers and carriers, and which data points are key to a particular insurer’s underwriting process,” Shearer said. . “This again drives operational efficiency for both our process and the insurers.”
The company had previously raised about $24.4 million, including approx A $20 million tranche raised in two rounds in 2020. With another $54 million in the bank, the company said it plans to strengthen its underwriting and brokerage capabilities and continue to invest in its machine learning tools.
Although Superscript is limited to the European market, it has longer term ambitions to become a global player. In fact, it’s already claiming some clients in North America, Australasia and the Middle East, though apparently those clients need access to the European insurance markets.
Superscript’s Series B funding round was led by Comparethemarket owner BHL UK, with participation from The Hartford and Concentric.
