A cluster of startups are looking to disrupt one of the oldest industries in the world: insurance.
Insurance has been around for thousands of years.
The earliest instance of insurance law is believed to date to King Hammurabi, about 1700 BC.
Business Insider spoke with venture capitalists, CEOs, and entrepreneurs around the world about startups breaking into segments of the market.
They include healthcare, home insurance, auto insurance and — yes — one startup that is taking on the ambitious task of getting startups themselves a better rate on insuring their business.
The startups coming to the insurance industry are taking on companies that have been around for 100 years or longer.
Lloyds of London, for example, an insurance market that traces its beginning to 1688, it one of the oldest companies in the world.
TheZebra is a price-comparison site backed by Mark Cuban.
TheZebra got started after a cold email from founder Adam Lyons to billionaire tech investor Mark Cuban: “Want to disrupt the insurance industry?” He did.
The way he’s doing it is through a comparison-shopping site that tracks insurers big and small to provide consumers with the best choices. It’s similar to Geico’s comparison-shopping product, but independent of other insurers.
Backers include Mark Cuban and Floodgate, along with other seed investors. Already, Lyons’ startup is working in all 50 states with more than 200 insurers.
FounderShield has a unique client base.
The New York-based startup provides insurance for startups. It has already backed curious companies including those producing sex toys and medical marijuana. “There are a lot of companies that do not market insurance to startups,” said founder Benji Markoff, including Chubb and AIG.
Despite not raising a penny in venture funding, FounderShield has put 1,200 startups under its budding umbrella.
Wallflower wants to keep its users from burning down the house.
Wallflower isn’t out to change how consumers get insurance. The Boston-based startup has a far more important goal: It wants to keep you from burning your house down.
Right now, the company is focusing on the consumer market with its product that monitors users’ homes to track “dumb appliances,” according to founder and CEO Victor Jablokov, like stoves and microwaves.
The startup hasn’t yet raised venture money, although Jablokov said it has taken on “a couple million” in funding.
See the rest of the story at Business Insider
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