The digital insurance manager wants to continue growing in Europe.
Frankfurt The digital insurance manager Clark takes over the Finanz Group, an internet platform for information on all aspects of insurance and financial products. The acquisition takes place both via a share swap with the previous owner Allianz X and via a purchase price payment, for which Clark has raised further capital from investors.
As a result of this new financing round, the amount of which the Frankfurt-based Insurtech does not provide any information, Clark will, according to his own statement, become a unicorn – i.e. a start-up with a valuation of over one billion euros.
“We noticed that the market environment is very good this year in order to grow even faster than planned. This has also put acquisitions on the agenda, ”said Clark boss Christopher Oster in an interview with the Handelsblatt. Over the course of the year, they looked at various online marketplaces for insurance companies and came to the conclusion early on that “the Finanz Group is the best fit for us”.
The share swap will make the Allianz insurance company’s digital investment unit the largest minority shareholder in Clark. But the insurance broker remains independent and continues to offer its customers tariffs from more than 160 different insurance companies.
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Existing investors such as White Star Capital, Tencent and Yabeo as well as new investors such as the US investment firm Eldridge Industries and the London-based growth financier Kreos Capital provided the capital for the purchase price, which was paid in addition to the share swap.
The Clark boss wants to make the company the largest European insurance broker.
(Photo: Clark)
For insurance brokers and financial advisors, the Finanz Group is an important partner for establishing contacts with potential customers. The cooperation has a great advantage for Clark, says Oster: “Many people want to find out more about insurance products on the Internet without giving Clark a broker mandate straight away.”
So far, Insurtech has found it very difficult to reach such customers. If they want specific advice after doing their research, for example on Finanz.de, “we can forward them to our platform in a more targeted manner”, says Oster.
Foreign expansion is expected to accelerate
The international expansion is also expected to accelerate. In addition to Germany, the Finanz Group is also active in Great Britain, France, the Netherlands and Switzerland. “While we had to start from scratch when entering the Austrian market, we can fall back on a team for future international expansion that already has contacts and experience in the respective country,” explains Oster.
Provided that Clark receives antitrust approval for the takeover as planned, the company will certainly expand into one of the countries mentioned next year. The aim is to become the largest insurance broker in Europe.
Clark currently looks after over 450,000 customers in Germany and Austria. The digital insurance broker plans to have 500,000 customers this year and then crack the one million customer mark in 2023. At the beginning of this year, the company, which was founded in 2015, received 69 million euros from investors, including the Internet company Tencent.
More: After Wefox’s mega financing round: Who will be the next unicorn in the insurance market?