YAMAP establishes non-life insurance company

Norbert Gehrke
Tokyo FinTech
Published in
3 min readJun 7, 2024

YAMAP, an outdoor business company with the corporate philosophy of “The joy of connecting with the earth”, has raised a total of 2.04 billion yen (including debt) in a Series D round. With the funds raised this time, YAMAP will establish “YAMAP Naturance Non-Life Insurance”, which will become a group company. Naturance Insurance will provide outdoor insurance, and YAMAP has started selling damage insurance as an agent.

YAMAP started its service in March 2013 and is a venture company based in Fukuoka, now in its 11th year. In a Series D round led by “Kyushu-Based Japan Evolution Fund Investment Limited Partnership (JEF)” operated by the independent alternative management company MCP Group, YAMAP raised a total of 2.04 billion yen through a third-party allocation of shares, debt funds, and venture debt from financial institutions. In addition, one auditor from JEF has joined to provide support. Participants in the funding round include:

With the funds raised this time, “YAMAP Naturance Non-Life Insurance” was established as a wholly-owned subsidiary of YAMAP. Naturance Insurance will provide new non-life insurance products utilizing the big data accumulated on the YAMAP platform. It is rare for a domestic venture company to establish a non-life insurance company, and it will be the 35th company among domestic non-life insurance companies. In the future, it will provide new types of insurance and services based on digital data.

Naturance Insurance launched “Outdoor Leisure Insurance” at the end of May, which broadly covers injuries from daily life to rescue expenses during outdoor activities, with an attached eyewitness information collection service in case of emergencies. At the same time, it also provides “Outdoor Household Insurance” which covers household goods and outdoor equipment.

Furthermore, YAMAP will allocate a portion of the revenue (agent commissions, etc.) obtained through the damage insurance agency business to mountain trail conservation activities such as rescuing climbers and preventing accidents.

In addition to the products sold this time, in the future, Naturance Insurance will utilize the behavioral data accumulated on the YAMAP platform to develop a “telematics insurance” with dynamic pricing where the insurance premium varies based on risk, aiming for around summer 2024.

Furthermore, based on the accident data that will be accumulated in Naturance Insurance in the future, the company will provide insurance products that reduce and suppress accidents in outdoor activities such as mountain accidents, taking on the challenge of YAMAP’s unique insurtech.

YAMAP will establish a system where “the more people who purchase insurance, the fewer accidents occur” and work on solving social issues.
YAMAP will provide safety and security through new insurance services so that more people can experience “The joy of connecting with the earth.”

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Norbert Gehrke
Tokyo FinTech

Passionate about strategy & innovation across Asia. At home in Japan. Connector of people & ideas.