Millennial consumers are emerging as a key demographic in the insurance market, and today a Swedish startup that’s building a business catering specifically to their needs and priorities is announcing a round of funding to fuel its growth. Hedvig, a neo-insurer that provides property, travel, contents, and accident insurance geared to the lifestyles of younger adults — it also has a “clumsiness” policy, and a portion of profits is donated to charity — has raised $45 million in a Series B round of funding. Anthemis — a firm that specializes in fintech and insurance investments — led the round, with previous backers Cherry Ventures, Obvious Ventures and CommerzVentures participating, along with new backers Swedish Novax, Nineyards Equity, Jonas Kamprad and Mathias Kamprad. Valuation is not being disclosed, and this brings the total amount of funding in Hegvig to $68 million. The company, based out of Stockholm, is also live in Norway and Denmark and it will use part of the funding to launch in its fourth (yet to be announced) country, outside of Scandinavia. Funds will also be used to continue expanding Hedvig’s team and product.
Insurance has undergone a big shift in recent years thanks to technology, the evolution of smartphone use, and changing consumer expectations. Taking a page from the world of fintech and using networks of APIs to provide a compelling mix of services to be able to focus more squarely on customer relationship and better user experience, there are now a number of insurance service providers in other markets like Marshmallow in the U.K. or Lemonade out of the U.S. building mobile-first, easier to use experiences for their customers, or those like YuLife and Ethos using technology to upend how insurance is presented to would-be buyers. Many might assume that younger adults would be the last people to think of, let alone buy, insurance. They often have less money for discretionary purchases, they may not own properties, and the assumption is that younger people simply feel more invincible. In fact, it seems that the opposite may be the case if you pitch the product more specifically to those younger users’ lifestyles and their values as consumers.