Swiss Re-backed insurtech Koala eyes growth in Europe with latest fundraise

French travel insurtech Koala, an Insurtech Gateway incubated startup that is backed by insurance players and reinsured by  Swiss Re, has raised €2 million to fund its growth and expansion plans in Europe.

The funding was led by existing investor Insurtech Gateway and three new investors Uneti Ventures, Slimmer AI and Sterling Oak.

With its latest round, Koala plans to fuel its growth in Europe, investing in data and machine learning to optimise its pricing and protection details, in particular with the contribution of Slimmer AI, an AI-specialised venture studio.

Founded in 2018 by Antony Mechin, Léo Tordjman and Ugo Weyl, Koala builds modular travel protections, removing exclusions, automating 100% of the operations and offering protections requiring no proof. Koala launched its full-scale commercialisation in early 2022 with over 30+ partnerships signed.

"Covid-19 was a real eye-opener for the travel market but also for travel protections which showed many of their limitations with messy exclusions and very long reimbursement processes. Post-Covid, travel agencies and operators are more than ever looking for solutions to allow their users to travel with peace of mind. But traditional insurers have done very little to innovate since then," said Tordjman, co-founder of Koala.

"That's where Koala comes into its own. All of our products are unique, automated and customisable to enable an unprecedented customer experience. And thanks to our data-driven approach, we enable our partners to generate much more revenue than with their current offers,” he added.

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