UChicago has returned for a $35m series B round for Kin Insurance, co-founded by an alumnus of the university’s Booth School of Business.
Kin Insurance, a US-based insurance technology developer, raised $35m in a series B round yesterday featuring University of Chicago (UChicago)’s venture capital fund Startup Investment Program.
VC firm Commerce Ventures led the round, which also attracted Hudson Structured Capital Management, Flourish Ventures, QED, Alpha Edison, Allegis NL Capital, August Capital and Avanta Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of insurer CSAA Insurance.
Founded in 2016, Kin Insurance sells home insurance policies directly to consumers, relying on data analytics to recommend appropriate coverage. It has set up its business as a reciprocal exchange, meaning it shares underwriting profits with customers.
Kin Insurance was co-founded by Sean Harper, who graduated with an MBA from UChicago’s Booth School of Business in 2009, making the company eligible for the Startup Investment Program.
The company has run a pilot of its business in the US state of Florida and will use the series B funding to expand across the country, beginning with states most exposed to severe weather.
UChicago Startup Investment Program previously contributed to a $47m funding round in August 2019 that included Avanta Ventures and undisclosed investors.
August Capital and Commerce Ventures supplied $13m in 2018, according to a regulatory filing. The latter had already joined Omidyar Network, 500 Startups, Chicago Ventures, Portag3 Ventures and assorted angel investors for a $4m seed round in 2017.
