Millennials are more apprehensive about getting any type of insurance than previous generations. As more and more millennials forgo homeownership, they are exposing themselves to financial risk when they choose not to secure renters’ insurance for their possessions while renting. Urban Jungle is a digital-first rental insurance platform that offers fast, flexible and affordable insurance options that start at just £5/mo. Targeted towards younger consumers interested in preparing for their financial future, the company was able to double its customer base to 40,000 during the pandemic with plans to expand its offering.
AlleyWatch caught up with CEO and Cofounder Jimmy Williams to learn more about Urban’s Jungle experience building traction during the pandemic, strategic growth plans, latest round of funding, which brings the total funding raised to $22.3M, and much, much more.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised $11.4M (£8M) of Series A investment from venture capitalists and private investors. This round includes $2.8M of investment from specialist insurtech investor Mundi Ventures. A further $700,000 comes from existing investor Eka Ventures, with the remaining investment coming from private backers.
Tell us about your product or service.
Urban Jungle is rebuilding insurance from the ground up, using technology to make it smart and fair.
We are growing an insurance brand that people can trust, and one that enables young people to better prepare for their financial future. We’ve started by providing a safety net for their home lives – simple, jargon-free, and fairly insurance.
Now, with 40,000 customers and having more than doubled in size throughout the pandemic, Urban Jungle offers affordable home insurance, which is highly flexible and has very eligibility including typically ignored groups of customers like younger and lower-income customers.
What inspired the start of Urban Jungle?
Urban Jungle was founded in 2016 out of personal frustration from living in a London flatshare. No insurer would offer me coverage, just because of my living situation.
Later, when working as a consultant to the industry, I saw that technology was not being used enough, and customers were too often forgotten especially younger ones, and I decided to do something about it.
How is it different?
Insurance companies effectively discriminate against various different groups, for example, young customers, people on low incomes, or people who have moved to the country recently. We think you shouldn’t be charged more for things that you can’t control.
Our data helps us detect very quickly when potential fraudsters are lying and, as a result, allows us to offer cover to a much broader group of customers who have proven to be honest. Yes, we’ve made insurance 100% digital, fast, flexible, and affordable, but it’s our ability to help a very broad range of customers, with carefully crafted insurance products, that really makes us stand out.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
We’re mainly focused on the £9.5bn UK Home & Possessions insurance market, but definitely have an eye on a large part of the global market for insurance which is worth over $4trn.
What’s your business model?
Customers paying for their insurance – we take a % of the premium.
How has COVID-19 impacted your business?
We’ve been very lucky in that the impact on our business has been fairly minimal. Clearly, we’ve all had to move to work from home, but we were already well set up for that.
Otherwise, our demand has held up very well, and we’re particularly well placed as a value drive provider to gain market share through this period.
What was the funding process like?
We’ve continued to grow strongly throughout the pandemic and that has been attractive for both new and existing investors. This is our second raise in a pandemic which has generally made the process more complex. We’re lucky enough to have a great set of investors who take a long-term view.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Raising capital remote is always harder, as it’s hard to build trust and rapport with someone without meeting in person. You just have to mitigate that by meeting a load more investors.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
We’re operating in a massive market, have a very strong team, and have delivered great numbers over the last year.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
We started with renters because that’s where our own pain had been and we’ve still got plenty of space to grow there and get better. With this additional capital, it also means we can start entering new markets and help more different types of customers.
That doesn’t mean that we’ll be launching into markets willy-nilly. We always aim to lead where we play and you’ll see us starting to make some big plays in the next 6 months.
We’ll also be doubling our team in the next year!
What advice can you offer companies in London that do not have a fresh injection of capital in the bank?
It’s really hard to give blanket advice at the moment because there is such wild variation in circumstances, but my main advice is to ask for help.
If you don’t have a really good set of NEDs or an advisory board, get one sorted now. Then use them. No one can fix the issues in your business but you, but you also can’t do it alone. Lean on those you trust.
If you don’t have a really good set of NEDs or an advisory board, get one sorted now. Then use them. No one can fix the issues in your business but you, but you also can’t do it alone. Lean on those you trust.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
What we have is working, so it’s more of the same. Our immediate aim is to become the UK’s biggest home insurance provider.
What is your favorite restaurant in London?
I’m going to pick two.
First, Apulia in Farringdon. It’s a family-owned Italian restaurant, where the food is all from the Puglia region (the heel of the boot in Italy). I love it for lots of reasons. The food is great. The atmosphere is super relaxed. That area of Farringdon is super fun with lots of nice pubs for before and after, plus my wife and I had our honeymoon in Puglia and it sparks lots of fond memories.
Second, the Pepper Tree at Clapham Common. It’s cheap and cheerful but the food is excellent, and I’ve had so many fun nights there with friends and loved ones.
