Urban Jungle, a digital insurance start-up targeting so-called ‘generation rent’ with a range of insurance products, has raised £2.5m ($3.3m) in a seed funding round. The funding round is backed by a combination of new and return investors, including former Prudential UK CEO Rob Devey and Octopus Group CEO Simon Rogerson.
Described as a challenge to traditional insurance providers by catering to UK renters who have historically been underserved by the insurance industry, Urban Jungle offers contents insurance, gadget insurance and tenant-liability policies.
This includes a contents insurance product focused on house and flat sharers. The start-up also offers a pay-as-you-go policy, and says it is committed to transparent pricing policy terms.
“We are fixing home insurance, which has a load of problems to work on,” said Urban Jungle co-founder Jimmy Williams. “Of all of the types of personal insurance, it’s still the one most bought and managed offline, mostly through estate agents, banks and mortgage brokers. Prices are high, terms are complex and there are fees for everything.”
Mr Williams said that customers are also often asked far too many questions about things that are outside their control, which they resent, and are becoming increasingly aware of outdated and unfair pricing. “Much of this is caused by insurers’ inability to use new sources of data appropriately,” he said.
Urban Jungle aims for its products to be cheaper and easier for customers to buy, manage and claim. It also wants to provide cover better suited to customers’ needs.
“All of this is enabled through technology,” said Mr Williams. “We automate the vast majority of processes to make things super quick and keep our costs very low. We also use data in smart ways to customise the cover we offer to customers.”
To that end, Urban Jungle claims 15,000 plus customers and says it is growing more than 30% per month. A