Drone Insurance Startup Flock Raises £2.25M in Seed Funding

Pay-as-you-fly drone insurance startup Flock announced yesterday that it has successfully raised an incredible £2.25M in seed funding from a range of investors from around the globe.

The London-based ‘insurtech’ company secured the funding primarily from venture capitalist Anthemis, as well as Silicon Valley’s Plug and Play, Seed and Speed, and London venture capitalist Downing Ventures (who previously led Flock’s pre-seed funding round in 2016), as well as a number of other angel investors.

Flock are a quintessential young tech startup, led by founder Antton Peña, CEO Ed Leon Klinger and Director Matthew Jones.

CEO Ed Leon Klinger (left) and founder Antton Peña (right) | Flock Cover

The glue behind the insurance front is big data, which is aggregated on a real-time basis including ‘hyperlocal weather conditions, population density, proximity to high-risk areas (such as airports)’, as reported by the company on Medium.

By analysing Flock’s algorithms to assess the risk of any particular drone mission in a matter of milliseconds, Flock Cover is able to convert the quantified risk into an intelligent, fair premium. It does so hand in hand with Allianz, the world’s leading aviation insurer, in a partnership it secured in July 2017.

A real-time risk report is generated y the Flock Cover app every flight, which also features a recently-launched ‘predictive risk analysis’.

This allows drone pilots – 1,000 of whom have taken up Flock Cover insurance in the UK so far – to fly safe in the knowledge that they can leverage big data technology while engendering peace in the minds of their clients.

Klinger says that Flock Cover is already having an impact on the drone industry. “Our customers are now planning their flights carefully on the app, scheduling their take-off time to minimise their flight risks, and saving money as a result’. Ed believes that customers are switching to Flock Cover because they find it simple and fair: ‘On the Flock Cover app, it takes less than twenty seconds to get covered. Pilots pay for insurance only when they need it, and instantly receive a fully-customised policy for their flight. He added: ‘It flies in the face of traditional insurance’.

With the results of research by PwC announced just yesterday that drones could have a £42 billion positive impact on UK economy by 2030, Flock’s seed funding has come not a moment too soon.

This need for such technology globally is acknowledged in the interest shown by global investors.

“We have seen an increased appetite from the insurance incumbents and consumers for new insurance solutions for emerging types of risks and exposures” commented Ali Safavi, Global Head of Insurtech. “We think that Flock plays well into this trend, and considering their great vision and team, we were convinced to be more supportive of their journey.”

Klinger has expressed that he “couldn’t be happier” with the syndicate of high profile investors who have undertaken to invest in Flock’s round. “The drone industry is growing exponentially, and we’re just getting started. This investment provides us with the backing and expertise we need from world-renowned investors, to meet this growth by expanding our own operations globally.”