Insurtech firm Trov raises $45m for expansion into Japan and US

Insurtech firm Trov has raised $45 million in a Series D round led by HSB Ventures, the venture capital arm of German reinsurer Munich Re, bringing the total amount raised by the San Francisco, California-based company to $85 million.

Japanese insurer Sompo Holdings also contributed to the round, as did previous investors Oak HC, Suncorp Group, Guidewire, and Anthemis.

Founded in 2012, Trov is one of a growing cohort of insurtech companies looking to modernise the insurance market through technology.

For Trov, this means providing consumers with insurance policies for individual items -- such as high-priced electronics -- for a nominated amount of time through a smartphone app.

For example, a Trov user can insure a laptop for 50 cents a day or AU$15 a month -- depending on the level of excess -- against damage, loss, or theft. They simply take a photo of the laptop or a physical receipt, forward an electronic receipt, or search Trov's product database.

Additionally, users can turn insurance on and off with a swipe and also file claims through the app, which is available to use on Android and iOS devices.

Scott Walchek, founder and CEO of Trov, previously said the platform was designed specifically for the "generation that lives on the smartphone".

"The millennial generation is signalling to the world they need new kinds of services that are on-demand. They just don't want to talk to people," Walchek said in May last year.

"They want ultimate control over their product and services and they get that control through their smartphone; that is how their world comes to them, and Trov is the first reinvention of the way people protect their things."

While Trov sells the insurance, manages the billing, and takes a percentage of the recurring premium, it relies on large insurers in various markets as partners for underwriting and a lot of the required licensing.

For example, Trov rolled out in Australia and the United Kingdom last year through agreements with Suncorp and Axa, respectively.

Its next launch location will be Japan, followed by the United States later this year, with Sompo and Munich Re as its underwriting partners.

Munich Re will also support Trov's expansion throughout Europe, Asia, and South Africa.

"By expanding our partnership with Munich Re and adding Sompo, we're building a stable of exceptional partners who will enable us to launch around the world with greater speed, efficiency, and local know-how," said Walchek.

"The combined capabilities of key global insurance leaders will streamline our regulatory path and increase our go-to-market effectiveness in each new territory we pursue."

In addition to international expansion, the new funding will be used to support new product development, as well as to grow the categories covered by Trov, such as jewellery.