Relative to previous generations, millennials are much more reluctant to purchase any type of insurance, specifically home or rental insurance. One of the reasons for this is the perceived high cost versus value received. Urban Jungle changes that by providing flexible, monthly rental insurance subscriptions that are easy to buy and manage – all done online. Urban Jungle’s policies start as low as £5 per month and provide up to £40K of coverage per person, which is ideal in roommate situations. Potential policyholders can complete a simple, online questionnaire in order to get a proper quote. Urban Jungle, founded in 2016, grew revenue 5X in the last year and is trusted by over 20,000 customers.
London TechWatch caught up with CEO Jimmy Williams to learn about Urban Jungle, the company’s future expansion plans, and recent funding round, which brings the total funding raised to $8.2M across four rounds.
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
We raised £2.5M from angels, plus Eka Ventures. Angels included Rob Devey (former CEO of Prudential UK and Europe), Simon Rogerson (CEO Octopus Group), and Andy Crossley (Non-Exec at Admiral).
Tell us about your product or service.
Urban Jungle is a fully digital insurer for a new generation of customers.
We provide flexible monthly insurance subscriptions, which are easy to buy, manage, and claim on, 100% online.
We use tech in numerous ways to keep costs down, including automating lots of manual functions and using AI to help us screen out fraud.
What inspired the start of Urban Jungle Insurance?
I was renting a flatshare with some friends in South London, and we just couldn’t get any cover for our house because we were young and sharing. I remember being hugely taken aback by it. As a customer who was seeking to do the right thing and insure my stuff, the insurers weren’t interested.
It drove me to look at what other problems there might be in the insurance industry, and I found many!
How is Urban Jungle different?
Our customers get cheaper policies, which are easier to buy and more flexible for their needs.
We are able to provide this service by using tech everywhere throughout the business, and through a highly customer-driven approach to product development.
What market is Urban Jungle targeting and how big is it?
We’re mainly focused on the £9.5B UK Home & Possessions insurance market, but we definitely have an eye on a large part of the global market for insurance, which is worth over $4T.
What’s your business model?
Our business model is driven by customers paying for their insurance.
How has COVID-19 impacted your business?
We’ve been very lucky in that the impact on our business has been fairly minimal. We’ve all had to move to working 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-driven provider, to gain market share through the upcoming recession.
What was the funding process like?
The funding process started fairly simply as we’ve had a phenomenal year and 5X’d our revenue.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
On this occasion, closing the round in the middle of the coronavirus crisis made everything a lot more complex, but we’re lucky to have a great set of investors who take a very long-term view.
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?
Even with the ongoing crisis, we’re pushing to double our revenue again in the next six months.
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.
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 non-executive directors or an advisory board, get this 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 a meal, 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.
I really hope they both survive all of this.
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