By Jane Lanhee Lee
OAKLAND, Calif. (Reuters) – Cyber insurance startup Coalition Inc on Wednesday said it raised $175 million in its latest round of funding, which valued the company at $1.75 billion as the need for protection against hacks, ransomware and data theft has surged with remote work during the pandemic.
San Francisco-based Coalition also uses its technology to assess a customer’s cyber risk and during the life of a policy will monitor for possible problems and notify customers to prevent breaches, said Joshua Motta, co-founder and CEO.
Motta said Coalition provides up to $15 million of insurance for U.S. companies and C$20 million in Canada, the only two countries where it now operates.
While cyber insurance can be bought separately, some insurance firms are starting to offer it as part of a broader commercial insurance policy as well.
Last week Boston-based tech startup Corvus Insurance, whose commercial insurance products include cyber security, data and privacy coverage, raised $100 million in a round led by Insight Partners that valued the company at $750 million.
According to data firm PitchBook, commercial insurance technology startups raised a record $765 million last year, up from $655 million in 2019, which was also a record. In its latest report on the insurance tech sector, PitchBook said cyber insurance companies could be attractive targets for acquisitions by larger commercial insurance firms looking to address a cyber insurance gap in the market.
Motta said the fresh funds will be used to set up new insurance products and expand overseas.
The latest round was led by San Francisco and London-based venture capital firm Index Ventures.
(Reporting by Jane Lanhee Lee; Editing by Leslie Adler)
