Insurtech merger creates new European digital insurance broker

A new digital insurance company has emerged by the merger of Europe's first digital insurance broker Knip, and Netherlands-based software provider Komparu.

This pan-European partnership brings together two insurtech innovators. The new company would be called Digital Insurance Group.

Knip launched in 2014 as Europe's first digital insurance broker, harnessing technology and data analytics to rollout supervised robo-advice to the consumer insurance market. Its service allows customers to monitor and manage all of their insurance policies, from over 100 providers, through its app.

According to the statement, Knip currently captures a large share of the mobile-first insurance brokerage market in both Germany and Switzerland and post-merger its platform will be serving a third of the nearly 1.1 trillion euro European insurance market.

Komparu launched in 2013, providing SaaS technology solutions for insurance companies, brokers and publishers, with partners including UMG group, Sanoma, Awin and Achmea.

Following the transaction, Knip's CEO Dennis Just will step down and Ingo Weber will become the new Group CEO of the Digital Insurance Group. Weber most recently served as managing director at German firm Verivox, as well as senior management posts at Swiss Re and GE Insurance.

Komparu's Roeland Werring will become Group CTO and Ruben Troostwijk remains CEO of Komparu, focusing on B2B business opportunities as well as launching Knip in the Netherlands, the company said.

The transaction has been supported with funding from existing investors Orange Growth Capital, Route 66 Ventures, Red Alpine and QED.

Weber commented: "This merger is an exciting step that will bring together two transformative InsurTech brands to create a major force in Europe's insurance sector. It represents a significant milestone for this rapidly growing sector, which is using disruptive technologies to deliver innovation to a multi-trillion dollar insurance industry."

"By creating The Digital Insurance Group, we have created a platform that will accelerate the growth of both Komparu and Knip, the first-to-market digital insurance broker in Europe. Knip creates mobile-first products that give people confidence that they have the right cover, at the right time, from the most suitable provider, cutting through all the complexity in the insurance market to give people the peace of mind they are ultimately paying for."

Troostwijk added: "Both our organisations share a strategic vision of the opportunity in the marketplace, and will together be able to share expertise and geographic footprints to create bigger and better innovations. Partnerships are a powerful way for InsurTech brands to increase market share in a competitive marketplace, and by working together, with established companies as well as emergent ones, we hope to create a sector that truly works for the consumer good.

"The consumer-facing apps and CRM of Knip on the one side, and Komparu's transactional frameworks and B2B white-labelling tools on the other, complement one another perfectly," Werring concluded. "This partnership promises immense possibilities for innovation and supports the transformation of the insurance industry."

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