Koala, the travel insurance startup closes €1.6m seed round

by Startacus Admin

€1.6m raised by innovative insurtech startup Koala to help with growth plans, team expansion and new product development

Great news for Koala, the Paris-based insurtech startup with the announcement of an investment of €1.6m, led by London based incubator and fund Insurtech Gateway alongside Playfair Capital, Techstars Ventures, and private investors.

Koala is on a mission to reinvent travel insurance. Their data-driven products proactively alert travelers to any disruption and pay-out instantly, no forms, no exclusions, no questions asked.

With COVID-19, travel has never been so unpredictable. And, as countries start to tentatively open up their borders, holidaymakers face some big decisions.

Now, with Koala, there is finally some reassurance. Koala tracks all journeys in real-time, instantly informs passengers as disruption occurs and issues cash compensation on the spot, whatever the cause of the delay might be.

Ugo Weyl, Co-Founder and CEO at Koala said: “Every year, hundreds of millions of passengers suffer flight disruptions and face an uphill battle to claim compensation. We felt this was unfair, a delay is a delay and customers should be compensated 100% of the time.”

Airlines are also suffering, with flight disruption costing the industry €4 billion every year - an average of 5% of their total operating costs.
Koala’s products benefit both operators and consumers. Their win-win solution is already in high demand across the travel industry and over the next 3 months, will go-live in the booking journeys of 2 airlines and 4 travel agencies.

Stephen Brittain, Co-Founder of Insurtech Gateway said: “We had seen several flight disruption startups before Koala. Their positioning to work directly with the airlines was bold, different and clearly learned the hard way. We’re excited to support them as they launch their beta product and to be a part of their future success. They are going to be one to watch.”

The investment will be used to support Koala’s rapid growth plans, team expansion and new product development. Flight disruption insurance is just the beginning. Koala plans to go way beyond insurance, to become the ultimate travel companion from the moment you leave your front door to the moment you safely arrive back home.

Ugo added: "We want to bring travel insurance into the 21st century, removing uncertainty and providing the invisible but ever present layer of protection that today’s consumers demand. With Koala you never fly alone.”

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Published on: 30th June 2020