Insurance start-up Jetty closes $11.5m financing round led by Valar
New York-based renters insurance provider Jetty said on Aug. 8 that it closed an $11.5 million Series A financing round led by Valar Ventures, the fund backed by Peter Thiel.
The round featured renewed participation from original Jetty seed investors, including Ribbit Capital, SV Angel, BoxGroup, and Red Swan.
Jetty’s initial product suite focuses on solving the problems both consumers and landlords experience during a home rental process. Through Jetty, consumers are able to protect their wine collections, expensive fashion accessories, and personal electronics, as well as to insure themselves from the risks of bed bugs, or theft that may occur during a home-sharing experience.
Jetty Passport products allows tenants to quickly meet their security deposit and lease guarantor requirements; the offering allows landlords to rely upon a single, institutional source of risk management.
Jetty co-founder and president Luke Cohler said: “Part of the inspiration for Jetty stemmed from the experience I had trying to rent an apartment in New York City after a few years living in Brazil. The process was a complete nightmare and I couldn't understand why I had to deal with endless phone calls, faxes and photocopies to do something as simple as pay someone to let me live at their property.”
Jetty Co-Founder and CEO Mike Rudoy added: "We’re not trying to fix insurance just for the sake of it, we’re trying to fix real-world problems. As a first step, we've combined existing financial services and insurance products in a new way to create an all-encompassing solution for renters and landlords alike. Looking ahead, we consider the intriguing possibility that building a successful insurance company may not rely upon selling insurance alone."
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