Swiss Re-backed digital insurer gains license for European expansion

Swiss Re-backed digital insurance company  Getsafe has received its insurance license from Germany's financial regulator BaFin, allowing it to accelerate its expansion to the rest of Europe.

The move follows the extension of its series B funding round, taking the total raised by the start-up to $115 million. Getsafe closed a reinsurance agreement with Swiss Re, which co-lead its $93 million Series B round.

Following its successful market entry in Germany in 2017 as an managing general agent (MGA), Getsafe launched in the UK in January 2020. The company currently offers home and car insurance but plans to expand into more verticals such as life and health in the near future, as well as develop new approaches in product development and claims handling.

With the new capital and a quarter of a million customers, Getsafe aims to become Europe’s leading digital insurer.

“The license is a significant milestone – especially when considering that the German regulator has set out stricter rules for new registrations following the Wirecard scandal,” said Christian Wiens, CEO and founder of Getsafe. “We can now passport our license within the European Union and take full advantage of our technological platform. New European markets like France are under consideration for expansion next year.”

“We don’t only want to do insurance differently, but we want to make it unconditionally better,” added Wiens. “We will reduce the time it takes to regulate claims and offer even more services via the app. At the end of the day, Getsafe customers are also benefiting from better prices.”

Following the fundraise and the license, Getsafe is eyeing a public debut in the future. “We have a quarter of a million young customers who will grow with us for an IPO,” stated Wiens. "We're growing our customer base faster than our competitors and can soon offer more complex products. The insurance license gives us the necessary freedom to take unconventional paths and to realise innovations quicker than before. In the long term, we want to offer our customers holistic insurance coverage from a single source. Now we’re really getting started.”

Did you get value from this story?  Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.