Spanish startup Life5 has raised its third funding round and has been growing nicely since my previous post. The company also has a new name — it used to be called Getlife. In addition to its home country, Life5 now sells life insurance products in France.
After raising a €1 million pre-seed round and a €5.5 million seed round, Life5 recently raised a €10 million Series A round (that’s $10.7 million at today’s exchange rate). Existing investor Singular is investing once again, along with Mundi Ventures and Global Brain (Sony Financial Ventures).
Life5 started with a simple premise. Many people, for one reason or another, want to subscribe to a life insurance product. And yet, it’s often a painful process as insurance companies sometimes require medical exams. In other cases, they simply don’t want to insure you due to a preexisting condition or because you don’t fit the bill.
In order to modernize this industry, Life5 works with several insurance companies and simplifies the subscription process. Customers can sign up in a few minutes through Life5’s website. They only need to fill out a form.
The company’s underwriting engine can handle 700 illnesses and risk professions, which greatly increases the acceptance rate. The startup acts as a managing general agent and partners with insurers and reinsurers, such as Axa and CNP Assurances.
Depending on your age, your answers and your needs, Life5 will recommend a specific life insurance product to protect your loved ones in case you die suddenly. In Spain, you can insure a mortgage or leave a lump sum, for instance.
“At Life5 we want people to have access to fair and modern life insurance policies, with no small print. Our aim is to banish the idea that taking out life insurance is a complicated process, which is why we offer users the chance to purchase life insurance simply and quickly,” co-founder and CEO Guillermo Alén said in a statement. “This new round of financing will allow us to continue growing and revolutionise the life insurance sector by offering distinct solutions.”
While Life5 has already raised quite a bit of money, it is still a small player in the insurance industry, as only 9,000 families are currently covered by a Life5 insurance product.
In addition to the direct-to-consumer distribution channel, Life5 partners with brokers, agents and affiliates to distribute its products. After Spain and France, the company plans to expand to Germany and Portugal.