Cowbell, a provider of cyber insurance for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), continues rapid growth as it announces $25mn in equity financing and a 49% increase in its new customer base year-over-year.
In an expanding cyber insurance market, 72% of SMEs are still without cyber insurance and say that a major cyberattack could destroy their business, according to a recent study.
Cowbell states that it is closing the insurability gap for this critically important market, achieving 2.5x premium growth in 2022 to insure SMEs against evolving cyber threats.
As part of its growth, the cyber insurance provider has also widened its geographic footprint, recently launching operations in the UK market with Prime One for UK SMEs. Its vertically integrated technology platform, AI-based approach, and continuously monitored risk pool – now comprising 38 million US and UK businesses – remain key differentiators.
With more and more threat actors targeting SMEs, the need to augment their cybersecurity with a robust cyber insurance policy has never been greater, Cowbell highlights.
Since its inception, Cowbell 365, the company’s dedicated risk engineering and claims management service, has prevented ransom threats over 74% of the time and reduced ransom payments to an average of 26% of the initial ransom demand.
“Economic costs of cybercrime will reach $24T by 2027, accelerating cyber insurance adoption and growth even further. We are investing in Cowbell’s strengths – its people, culture and unit economics,” said Chris Zhong, Investment Principal at Prosperity7 Ventures.
He continues: “Prosperity7 is excited to partner with Cowbell on their path to profitable growth and near-term operating profitability as the company further cements its leadership in global SME markets.”
Jack Kudale, Founder and CEO of Cowbell, adds: “Momentum and policyholder growth is strong, with record renewal retention. We just closed our largest quarter to-date on the strength of omnichannel distribution, and with a focus on servicing our broker partners and policyholders.
“With this new investment, we will deepen our focus on serving our chosen markets in the US and UK. This milestone is a testament to our expertise, culture, and market leadership.”
Cowbell has a diverse set of reinsurance partners, spanning over 20 prominent reinsurers globally. This, along with its approach to assessing cyber risk and providing tailored, flexible coverage are the underpinnings of its industry leadership.
Also, the company has pushed its omnichannel strategy forward in 2023, which it claims, differentiates its distribution model from its closest competitors, bolstering its combined retail broker and embedded insurance channels by 14% in the last 12 months.
