EXCLUSIVE- Insurance startup Trov, might be giving customers a better option than a typical product warranty when they make a big purchase.
Trov CEO Scott Walchek told Bank Innovation that the company is looking at partnerships with major online retailers as it prepares for its big U.S. launch in the last quarter of the year.
“In terms of inorganic growth, M&A is not imminent for us,” said Walchek. “The growth is going to happen with online merchants that would embed the ability for the customer to select Trov’s insurance at the point of scale.”
Described as an “on-demand micro-duration singe item” insurance provider, Trov is a mobile app that lets users insure an item for the timeframe they desire. It covers damage, theft, and loss. The user can swipe on and off with the flick of a finger and insure the item instantaneously. A user can file a claim through the app’s intelligent chat bot. The premium adjusts every month based on the price of the item. The company also notifies the user when there’s a price change on the insured item.
“So, if you have your iPhone 6 insured for a certain amount and then Apple announces iPhone 7, we will notify you and adjust the price accordingly,” Walchek said.
Trov first launched in Australia early in 2016 and then in U.K. last September. Throughout this period, the company has collected some important data about its users, Walchek said.
For one, 75% of those users are under the age of 39, and a majority of its users are male. Diversifying that user-base is a priority, Walchek said.
“Another key finding is the demand for additional categories,” he said. “Our Net Promoter Score was 78. So people love it! But the detraction is that our users want more categories.”
Right now, Trov covers electronic goods, photography equipment and bicycles. Walchek said there’s an increasing demand to add sporting goods, jewelry, which the company will likely add.
There is no specific date for its launch in the U.S., expect that it will happen this year. Walchek declined to comment on this.
For the U.S. market, Trov has partnered with German reinsurance provider Munich Re. It has been approved to sell in all U.S. jurisdictions, but will probably not be available in all 50 states till the end of Q1’18, Walchek said.
More recently, in June Trov closed a series D funding of $52 million led by Munich Re. The major portion of this funding closed in April. In total, the company has a raised $91 million, Walcheck said.
Right now, Trov insures electronics and photography equipment and has a cap of $5,000. However, Walchek said that they will likely increase that limit as the company continues to accumulate more users.
Its initial Series C funding was led by Oak HC/FT. Other investors in this round included Suncorp Group, Guidewire, and Anthemis.