New UK P2P blockchain insurer raises £15m

InsurePal, a new peer-to-peer insurer raised £15 million ($18 million) in an Initial Coin Offering (ICO) to fund its UK motor launch in the first half of 2018.

The firm wants to offer lower premiums for those able to gain ‘social proof’ guarantees from friends and family.

The crowdsale for InsurePal tokens online was sold out in 1 minute and 20 seconds, according to the Jan. 17 press release.

Key advisers to the company include former Direct Line chief operating officer Damian Arnold and Lloyd’s of London veteran Tom Manson.

With the Ethereum blockchain platform as a technology base for transactions, InsurePal uses a form of peer pressure, or ‘social proof endorsement’, to encourage and sustain better behaviours such as safer driving among policyholders.

By accepting only risks that an endorser guarantees with a financial commitment, such as credit card details, InsurePal is wants to offer a lower premium for the insured. Endorsers are rewarded with tokens which may be used for their own discounts, sold or kept as an investment.

InsurePal has filed, for patent protection in the US and worldwide, the approach of arranging an insurance policy with an endorser – “A method and device for determining premium rates and discounts for insurance customers” – Aug. 24, 2017.

InsurePal is targeting millennials and tech-savvy crypto enthusiasts which are expected to make up 75 percent of the workforce by 2023.

Co-founder and CEO Matt Peterman, said: “Insurance is a $7.3 trillion stubbornly old fashioned goliath that could significantly reduce premium prices if its model could allow it to operate with lower risk clients.

“In the case of InsurePal, the social proof that benefits these responsible clients with big discounts also carries embedded value in its underlying IPL token currency.”

InsurePal’s motor pilot is expected to be followed by schemes for property, casualty, life and health.

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