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Li Ka-Shing’s Horizons Ventures leads US$15M funding in German startup

The Friendsurance team

The Berlin-based startup is a P2P insurance platform which works on a rewards-based model

The Friendsurance team

Hong Kong-based Horizons Ventures, a private investment arm of Li Ka-Shing, has led a US$15.3 million funding round in Berlin-based P2P insurance startup Friendsurance.

A few strategic investors and business angels from Asia and the US also participated in the current round.

Horizons is an existing investor in the startup.

“We intend to use the fresh capital to grow further in the German market and expand internationally. Our first expansion target for 2016 will be Australia. We are presently considering expansion opportunities for further markets,” said Co-founder Tim Kunde.

Founded in 2010, Friendsurance operates an innovative peer-to-peer insurance model. The model rewards small groups of customers with a cashback bonus each year if their group remains claimless. Customers with the same insurance type form small groups, where a part of their premium is paid into a cash back pool. If no claims are submitted during the year, the group members get their cash back in the following January.

In property insurance, the average cashback is 33 per cent of the original premium paid. Currently, the claims-free bonus is available for private liability, home contents and legal expenses insurance in Germany.

Also Read: Li Ka-Shing Foundation’s Solina Chau is one shrewd investor

Friendsurance operates as an independent insurance broker in the German market with approximately 70 domestic insurance partners. The startup currently employs more than 80 people.

Friendsurance is already financed by various institutional and private investors of the Internet domain, including the associated companies of Otto Group Eventures, the German Startups Group and the European Regional Development Fund.

Horizons is a leading investor in some of the world’s most innovative companies and disruptive technologies including Facebook, Waze, Spotify, DeepMind, Hampton Creek and Blockstream.

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