Last Week in InsurTech #3
With Lemonade unexpectedly dropping their impending lawsuit against wefox, Julian Teicke (pictured above) can be all smiles again. The week feels a bit like a Telenovela, especially with news of Softbank — which is invested in Lemonade — now also eyeing wefox. More below…
Companies covered: wefox, Lemonade, Policybazaar, Softbank, Prudential, Babylon Health, AXIS
Topics: Lemonade/wefox lawsuit, InsurTech Brazil, InsurTech India A.I. software, funding, startup acceleration
Venture Radar
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News
Lemonade and wefox ready to bury the hatchet?
Just slightly over a year ago, Lemonade filed a lawsuit against German wefox, alleging copyright infringement, breach of contract and violations of the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. The complaint alleges — amongst other things — that wefox founder Julian Teicke created several fake profiles on the wefox app and filed fraudulent claims in an effort to extract as much information about the workings of Lemonade as possible. Through a series of LinkedIN posts, Teicke and the Lemonade CEO Daniel Schreiber seem to have “put the conflict aside.” You can find the full complaint via Gruenderszene here. Techcrunch, which also reported on the story, called this a “slightly bizarre turn of events,” since wefox had until recently vehemently denied the allegations.
Softbank eyeing “triple-digit” investment in wefox
Wefox back in the news! First, settling a possible lawsuit with Lemonade and now looking to secure funding with Softbank, which is already invested in Lemonade, reports Reuters. Apparently, a source close to the matter said that ”Softbank would lead the new round in wefox by taking a substantial stake.” Given that Lemonade and wefox just seemed to have settled a lawsuit, there may be a very interesting development brewing on the horizon.
There will be no “Uber-style” InsurTech model in Brazil, says regulator
The superintendent of the Brazilian insurance regulator SUSEP, Joaquim Mendanha, said during an InsurTech conference held last week that there is a “need to have a disruptive” marketplace, but it needs to be a responsible one. “We are not talking about a taxi or a shirt here, but income, security and equity,” he added. Mendanha conceded that Brazil cannot be left behind when it comes to innovation in the insurance sector, but that this must happen on a sound and secure regulatory footing. It is not clear which — if any — specific events have triggered this broad-brush remark about the InsurTech environment. Full article in Portuguese here.
AXIS launches is hopping on the InsurTech waggon
Specialty line and treaty reinsurance provider AXIS Capital reports that it is launching a new unit “that will lead enterprise-wide efforts to partner with entrepreneurial companies focused on data and analytics with high value (re)insurance applications, new product opportunities including emerging risks, and new distribution and (re)insurance business models.”
Policybazaar launches multilingual interface for two-wheeler insurance platform
According to a press release, India’s largest insurance marketplace Policybazaar.com, has “launched a new multilingual interface designed to help two-wheeler users in (…) to research and buy online in their native language.” This comes in an effort to capture the 100m strong market of motorcyclists who prefer to browse in their native Hindu language, instead of English.
Prudential signs $100m licensing deal with Babylon Health
According to an article by Forbes, Prudential’s Asian unit ”has signed a licensing deal with digital health startup Babylon Health to exclusively use its AI-powered software for its own apps across 12 countries in Asia.”
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