Getsafe Files for IPO: Germany's First Digital Health-Focused Insurtech Raises Over $50M

What is the most effective way to mitigate losses after an accident occurs? Perhaps, it is insurance!

Undoubtedly, insurance has helped consumers avoid and recoup significant losses. However, beyond illnesses, our daily lives are more often punctuated by minor mishaps, such as a stolen bicycle or a pet knocking over a vase. So, how can we recover from the financial impact of these small accidents?

The aforementioned issues can be resolved by the German tech insurer Getsafe.

Two coincidences foreshadowed the founding of Getsafe.

On one occasion, Christian Wiens, a German mechanical engineer, accidentally broke his landlord’s vase. In addition to apologizing to the landlord, Christian wondered whether the loss was covered by his insurance policy. This incident made him realize the importance of having a transparent and intuitive insurance platform.

At the same time, physicist Marius Simon created a group on Facebook to invite like-minded individuals with entrepreneurial aspirations for interviews and experience sharing. However, Christian was the only one who attended the in-person meeting at that time.

Why choose the insurance industry? After in-depth discussions, the two founders realized that in the real world, much like a shattered vase, the greater the number of damaged items and the more severe the damage, the more there is a need for a platform to mitigate or reduce losses. Instantly aligned in their vision, they founded Getsafe in Heidelberg, Germany, in May 2015. Christian serves as Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Getsafe, while Marius holds the position of Chief Technology Officer (CTO). They reached a consensus that the insurance industry would undergo transformative changes within the next five to ten years, and that Getsafe would be at the forefront of this new era in insurance.

Marius Simon (left) and Christian Wiens (right) (Image source: Getsafe official website)

In 2015, Getsafe was established as a digital insurance broker, becoming the first of its kind in Germany.

At its inception, Getsafe positioned its business as a “digital insurance portfolio.” Its model involved collecting customers’ policy information across various insurance lines and creating a customized online insurance portfolio for them, allowing customers to view all their policy details through an online account. Unfortunately, this venture failed quickly, as few customers showed interest in such a service.

Subsequently, Getsafe established a partnership with Munich Re, aiming to transform from a “digital insurance bundle” into a “digital insurance advisor.” Through digitalization, Getsafe consolidates customers’ insurance contracts and information, providing recommendations to help them optimize their insurance portfolios. Via the Getsafe app, users can easily and conveniently manage all their insurance policies, analyze coverage, and file claims with insurers.

Until 2017, Getsafe began to adjust its strategy, recognizing that the company’s business could no longer be confined solely to the role of a “digital insurance broker”; more importantly, it needed to develop its own insurance products. Subsequently, in December 2017, Getsafe launched its proprietary insurance products.

In September 2018, Getsafe sold its brokerage business division to the online price comparison website Verivox to focus on building its own insurance product platform.

For Getsafe, establishing a brokerage business unit was not an easy task, but it was a necessary move. As founder Christian stated, if Getsafe had continued to sell policies for established insurers, it would have faced limited policy sales volume and struggled to further enhance the customer experience. To achieve growth, Getsafe needed to develop and offer its own insurance products.

Getsafe views itself as a technology company active in the insurance industry, rather than an insurance company.

At present, Getsafe is leveraging digital solutions and artificial intelligence to help customers identify, organize, and protect the things that matter most in their lives. On the Getsafe website, customers can easily learn about, purchase, and manage all their insurance policies with just a few clicks or via the smartphone app.

Getsafe Mobile Interface (Image Source: Getsafe Official Website)

Leveraging machine learning technology, GetSafe offers digital insurance products across all business lines, including property, medical, health, and life insurance. Currently, GetSafe provides dozens of basic insurance categories tailored to the mass market:

Car Insurance:Apart from third-party liability, GetSafe provides partial coverage for claims on vehicles older than five years and comprehensive coverage for those within five years. Notably, among various car insurance claim terms, GetSafe offers compensation of up to €5,000 in the event of accidents such as fire, lightning strikes, explosions, or short circuits. GetSafe car insurance users pay a monthly premium of €4.50.

Liability Insurance:Liability insurance is a form of property insurance under which the insurer assumes liability for compensation when the insured bears civil liability to compensate a third party and a claim for compensation is made. When employees of GetSafe’s corporate clients fall ill due to work-related causes, and the employer is held liable under labor laws and required to provide financial compensation, GetSafe will mitigate this risk for the employer. Similarly, if a user needs to replace a door due to lost room keys, GetSafe will cover the associated costs. Users of liability insurance pay a monthly premium of €3.60.

Daily Life Insurance:Losses resulting from accidents in daily life are all eligible for compensation. Examples include financial losses incurred from visiting phishing websites, loss of valuables and cash, and corruption of legally downloaded music and video files.

Legal Protection Insurance:When users are subjected to unlawful treatment, GetSafe supports them in obtaining legal assistance. For instance, if users believe that their wages and those of their colleagues involve legal inequities, they can seek help from lawyers. GetSafe will reimburse users for all expenses incurred throughout the legal aid process. If the policyholder’s employer has filed for bankruptcy, GetSafe supports users in consulting with lawyers regarding outstanding unpaid wages, with a maximum single-item reimbursement of £500 for this service.

Health Insurance:Including health accident insurance and travel health insurance. If an accident causes permanent physical injury to the insured, Getsafe Accident Insurance will pay a lump-sum compensation. For trips exceeding eight weeks, if the insured experiences any accident not caused by force majeure (excluding pre-existing conditions such as non-dental illnesses and pregnancy), Getsafe will provide compensation based on the severity of the injury.

Drone Liability Insurance:This is a mandatory insurance coverage for private drones, specifically designed for drone enthusiasts and pilots. Getsafe provides compensation for damage to persons or property caused during flight, as well as for aircraft malfunctions. Users of this drone liability insurance are required to pay a monthly premium of €3.77.

Bicycle Theft Insurance:Getsafe’s bicycle theft insurance protects users’ bicycles or e-bikes against theft and covers repair costs. For a monthly premium of €3.75, Getsafe provides compensation for personal injury and property damage, with payouts determined by the severity of the incident and capped at €50 million.

Pet Liability Insurance:In addition to human policyholders, pets are also among the “exclusive clients” served by German insurers. In certain regions, such as Berlin, Brandenburg, Hamburg, Lower Saxony, and Thuringia, pet insurance is mandatory. When insured events specified in the policy occur (such as pet injury or loss, death, disability, or illness of the insured pet), Getsafe assumes liability for compensation. Dog owners pay a monthly premium of €2.50 and can receive coverage of up to €20 million.

Getsafe’s Selected Insurance Products (Image Source: Getsafe Official Website)

In addition to the aforementioned common insurance products, Getsafe offers personalized insurance services tailored to its users. The company targets millennials, a generation that has grown up alongside digitalization. Their primary demands are convenience, efficiency, and time savings; what they need most is an all-in-one insurance solution that allows them to purchase all necessary coverage from a single provider in a single step.

Leveraging its existing digital platform, Getsafe meets this need. Users can log in to the Getsafe app (available for download and installation directly from app stores) using their username and password, allowing them to add or remove insurance coverage types, policyholders, and insured items 24/7 according to their needs, without incurring any additional fees. Furthermore, their account serves as a personal insurance database, enabling them to access all their policy information simply by logging in.

Founder Christian once stated, “Most insurtech companies emphasize digitalization, but sometimes lose sight of being customer-centric. We have always placed our customers at the forefront. It took us a year to complete the full deployment and establish a multi-line policy administration system. Following our partnership with Munich RE, we built a new underwriting system that integrates customers’ health, life, and property & casualty insurance products into a single master policy.”

Despite Getsafe’s launch of a wide range of insurance products and its provision of personalized insurance plans for users, health and medical insurance remains the centerpiece among its offerings. In February 2018, Getsafe announced the launch of a new health insurance product: Dental Protection Insurance.

Basic dental coverage costs approximately €70 per year, which includes free regular dental care and cleanings, as well as an annual allowance of up to €150 for plastic dental fillings. By paying higher premiums, this basic coverage can be extended to include additional service modules, such as major dental surgeries and denture replacements. Previously, insurance companies rarely covered the cost of professional teeth cleaning.

Furthermore, users can register their insurance policies or submit claims directly through the Getsafe app. They simply need to take a photo of the bill provided by the dentist and upload it to the Getsafe platform to receive reimbursement within a short period.

Getsafe aims to establish a future-oriented health insurance program that serves as an insurance companion for digital customers. Notably, Getsafe’s dental protection plan not only provides financial compensation for patients undergoing treatment for dental diseases but also covers services such as dental cleaning and care, thereby serving as a preventive measure against dental conditions. In contrast, most traditional insurers operate on a post-event compensation model, indicating that they still have a long way to go in terms of disease prevention.

In addition to launching dental insurance, Getsafe has introduced a groundbreaking health insurance API (Application Programming Interface). This API enables developers to integrate insurance products, including health insurance options, into third-party applications. Through the API, healthcare institutions can recommend health insurance products to patients. Notably, leveraging this integrated platform, some patients can even receive insurance reimbursement prior to treatment to help cover high medical costs.

Marius Simon, Co-Founder and Chief Technology Officer, stated that Getsafe is the first health insurance provider to adopt an API approach, enabling direct access to the complex infrastructure of health insurance technology. “From independent dental clinics to large healthcare systems, all providers can utilize our medical APIs, which can also be customized to meet their specific needs,” said Marius Simon. “We are excited to partner with healthcare providers to help them streamline patient booking processes at the forefront of innovation.”

Currently, Getsafe is planning to launch life insurance.

In 2015, upon its establishment, Getsafe garnered favor from prominent investment firms such as Iris Capital, Btov Partners, and Capnamic Ventures, securing €100 in funding to lay the financial foundation for building its insurance brokerage platform.

In June 2019, Getsafe announced the completion of a $17 million Series A financing round, jointly invested by Earlybird Venture Capital and CommerzVentures. The funds were primarily used to expand Getsafe’s insurance business across Europe and to launch new insurance products, such as legal protection insurance and bicycle theft insurance.

A year later, in late December 2020, Getsafe swiftly closed a $30 million Series B financing round. This marked the largest single funding round in Getsafe’s history, led by digital platform iptiQ, with existing investors Earlybird VC Management GmbH & Co. KG, CommerzVentures, btov Partners, and Capnamic Ventures participating as co-investors.

Getsafe’s Funding History (Source: VCBeat)

With cumulative funding exceeding $50 million over five years, Getsafe’s capital appeal is significant. Alongside the increase in funding, Getsafe’s insurance market continues to expand.

Following its successful entry into the German market, Getsafe launched digital content insurance in the UK in January 2020, marking the beginning of its expansion into the European market. In terms of e-commerce, the UK is Europe’s largest market. Although Brexit created an unpredictable business environment for Getsafe at the time, the company maintained a clear strategic perspective: the UK was the most critical market for its European expansion. To provide long-term security to its UK customers, Getsafe established an independent UK subsidiary in London, enabling it to operate completely independently of political decisions.

Furthermore, Getsafe has partnered with GoCompare, a leading online price comparison website in the UK, thereby gaining greater strategic initiative in the British market. Since entering the UK, Getsafe’s customer base has grown to over 150,000 and continues to rise. Currently, Getsafe is also making efforts to expand into other European countries.