Reinsurer Maiden Re has announced an investment in InsurTech drone start-up, Betterview, which has now closed a $2.05 million Series Seed round.
The latest capital raise takes Betterview’s total funding to $3.65 million, and was led by Compound Venture Capital, and included investments from Maiden Re, 645 Ventures, Arab Angel, Winklevoss Capital, Chestnut Street Ventures, Pierre Valade, Edward Lando, and earlier investors, Haystack and MetaProp.
Betterview was established in 2014 by insurance and technology experts David Lyman and David Tobias, and provides software and services that analyses data for building and properties for insurers and reinsurers. The firm uses drones to capture images, which it combines with other data sources to ensure each property is well understood.
Colin Fitt, Senior Vice President (SVP), Corporate Development, Maiden Re, said; “Maiden Re is very pleased to have participated in Betterview’s latest fundraising round. Our ongoing strategic objective is to support emerging technology which provides operational, analytical, and competitive advantages to our clients. We believe that Betterview provides a compelling value proposition for our clients evolving needs.”
Tom Highet, President of Maiden Re North America, added; “We believe the technology that Betterview is developing will be very beneficial to our customers from both a claims and underwriting standpoint. We are excited to be a part of this developing technology.”
So far, Betterview, which is domiciled in San Francisco, U.S., has inspected more than 74,000 buildings for over a hundred businesses, the majority being insurance companies. Betterview analyses workflow, data management and compliance, and insights to make sure every property is thoroughly understood, and has also developed a “highly precise computer vision system for identifying important problems with roofs.”
David Hirsch, Managing Partner, Compound Venture Capital, added; “We’re always searching to partner with early stage technology companies enabling traditional industries. When we looked at the billion dollar P&C insurance industry, we saw an industry that conducted business the same way for decades until recently. Having been involved in Betterview’s previous fundraising round, we believe drones and artificial intelligence are going to transform how inspectors, underwriters and adjusters do their jobs.”
David Lyman and David Tobias, Co-Founders of Betterview, said; “As the quality, speed and economics of drones continues to improve, we are seeing more insurers move from concept to real production use with drones.
“This latest round of financing will help us to capitalize on this momentum by expanding our existing artificial intelligence capabilities, accelerate product development and increase our adjusting, engineering & operations staff. We are excited to announce the closing of our latest fundraising round, and couldn’t be happier to have Compound Venture Capital, Maiden Re, and our other investors on board.”
