Greenberg's Aquiline nabs majority stake in UK insurtech to spur growth

Insurance veteran Jeff Greenberg's private equity firm  Aquiline Capital Partners has acquired a majority stake in a UK-based digital underwriting and insurance distribution platform serving customers across both personal and small commercial lines.

Ripe Thinking was founded in 1997, and currently serves over 280,000 policyholders with specialised needs across golf, boats, caravans, and cycles, as well as providing insurance to small business owners such as personal trainers, musicians, and photographers. It uses a proprietary technology to enable customers to “build their own policy”, providing tailored solutions in an optimised online journey.

Ripe has seen a revenue growth of 27 percent in the past 12 months, and plans to use the strategic investment to further expand capabilities and accelerate its next phase of growth.

Following the investment, Aquiline will work closely with the company’s management team, which will continue to be led by chief executive officer (CEO) Paul Williams (pictured right) and founder & managing director John Woosey (pictured left), who will retain a significant equity stake, and marketing director Sarah Jones.

Greenberg, chairman and CEO of Aquiline, said: “The way people buy insurance is changing. As more individuals turn to online platforms to purchase insurance, Ripe offers a simple process for buying policies online while still ensuring quality coverage at a good value. We believe that John, Paul, and their team have built a high-quality and scalable digital platform that can identify customer demands, and design and distribute products to address these efficiently. We are excited to partner with them through the next phase of their journey.”

Woosey commented: “We are excited to partner with Aquiline, whose deep understanding of the UK and global insurance markets, and their track record of supporting technology-enabled businesses will allow us to further develop our offerings to our customers and continue to build out our underwriting and distribution capabilities. This partnership is a testament to the work of our incredible team who have delivered our strong and consistent growth year after year. The investment will allow us to accelerate our ambitions for international growth while still effectively and efficiently serving our customers across the UK.”

Williams added: “ Aquiline is an ideal partner to support Ripe through our next phase of growth. The investment will allow us to further expand the capabilities of our industry-leading technology platform and reach customers through new and innovative channels. Aquiline and Ripe share a strategic vision for the company and I am excited to lead the business through its next phase of growth.”

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