Brolly, the UK digital insurance app, was acquired by the incumbent operator Direct Line Group. The terms of the acquisition were not disclosed, while the transaction is expected to formally end in the third quarter of 2020.
Originally founded by the former Aviva underwriter and product manager Phoebe Hugh and the former technical manager of Skype and Microsoft Mykhailo Loginov, after the couple met with the company builder Entrepreneur First, Brolly launched the personal insurance concierge service. . The app allows you to manage your existing insurance policies and help you identify potential gaps or duplications in coverage and search for a better deal.
This seemed to have reached insurtech so far and, in August last year, the startup launched "Brolly Contents" to fill what it saw as a vacuum in home content insurance.
Designed to adapt to the digital age, the product promised "flexible" monthly coverage for all or a subset of the items you own, delivered more conveniently via the Brolly mobile app. The features of Brolly's Content included the ability to secure up to £ 40,000 of personal effects, suitable for tenants or property owners, and no commission for cover updates.
In addition, a loyalty discount of up to 25% has been promised which increases every month with Brolly and has not filed any complaints. As Brolly CEO Phoebe Hugh said at ProWellTech at the time, this is the antithesis for historical suppliers who offer great discounts for new customers, which are then recovered in the following years with the premise that you are too lazy or poor to waste time changing.
According to the post-transaction joint announcement, the team behind Brolly is expected to join the Direct Line group to develop their work to date with the aim of "helping the group accelerate its transformation to become an actor. digital leader in the insurance sector ".
Hugh comments in a statement: "I started Brolly to reinvent personal insurance and, by listening and adapting to a new generation of consumers, we have made great progress so far. I am excited to take the next step on this journey that will allow me and my team to scale technology and products to a much wider audience. We are excited to continue building beautiful and customized products to simplify insurance within the Direct Line group, one of the UK's most innovative large insurers. "
In particular, however, ProWellTech understands that users of existing Brolly apps have been informed that its "policy management platform" will be closed on July 30th, but with the ability to export key data on current and expired policies. Brolly's content is also suspended for a single customer's end of coverage date.
Finally, just for posterity, here is Hugh's original EF pitch for investors:
