Insurtech's $1bn unicorn start-up sets sights on Europe with acquisition

bolttech, an international insurtech start-up that has recently achieved the unicorn status with its $180 million series A funding round, has expanded in Europe with the acquisition of a 'next-gen' digital insurance platform.

bolttech has acquired i-surance, a B2B2C digital insurance platform based in Europe. The transaction is part of the start-up's ambitious international expansion strategy and follows its recent closing of the largest-ever insurtech series A funding round, valuing the business in excess of $1 billion.

The acquisition of i-surance extends bolttech’s global footprint from 14 to 26 markets across North America, Asia, and Europe, adding 12 new countries in Europe including Belgium, France, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, UK.

Launched in 2020, bolttech is a provider of technology-enabled ecosystem for protection and insurance. The company’s insurance exchange is said to be the largest in the world with a $5 billion premium on the platform, providing a gateway to more than 5,000 products and 150 insurance providers.

Rob Schimek (pictured), group chief executive officer of bolttech, said: “We will build upon bolttech and i-surance’s strong foundations in Europe to accelerate our growth across the region. I look forward to seeing the powerful combination of our people, product and digital capabilities deliver even more value for our business partners and customers.”

Andrew Cons, bolttech’s general manager for Europe, added: "Our ambition to become the number one insurtech in Europe takes a significant step forward today. I’m looking forward to combining our respective operations and working with all our valued market-leading partners to deliver a greatly enhanced digital customer experience.”

Jens Schädler, CEO and founder of i-surance, commented: “As the market leader in several European countries for mobile device protection and hearing insurance, we’re delighted to be joining such an ambitious and innovative business as bolttech. As part of the bolttech family we are now able to provide our partners with global solutions.”

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