South Korean Insurtech Carrot Doubles Capital with $90 Million Rights Offering

Carrot General Insurance Corp., South Korea’s first digital-only insurance provider, announced that it has raised 100 billion won (US$88.7 million), which equals its founding capital raised in 2019.

The Seoul-based digital non-life insurer was established through a joint partnership of big name investors: Hanhwa, SK Telecom, Hyundai Motors, Altos Ventures and Stic Investments.

Participating in the latest capital increase are the company’s existing shareholders and T-Map Mobility, the nation’s No. 1 navigation service provider, newly joining with a 5% stake.

Hanhwa Group, the largest shareholder, contributed 61.6 billion won ($55 million) in this offering, which now gives Hanhwa a 56.6% stake in Carrot, up from 51.6% prior to the round. SK Telecom holds 10%, Hyundai Motor Group 3.5%, Altos Ventures 9.9% and Stic Investments 15%.

Witnessing strong J-Curve growth, the insurtech company said it recently hit 200,000 new subscribers to its pay-per-mile auto insurance cover in less than two years since launching the product.

In addition, the company is developing a pay-as-you-drive model, which calculates premiums based on the risk factors associated with driving behavior. This cover will be applied to covers for motorbikes, e-hailing, rental cars and fleets. The goal, said Carrot, is to reduce claims and accident rates while promoting safe and economic driving patterns.

“The [rights] offering positions Carrot to further strengthen the competitiveness, drive future growth and will accelerate the pace we bring the future of insurance to the market,” commented Carrot CEO Paul Jung in a statement.

Despite the challenging local and global economic environment, Jung said, there has been overwhelming response from the company’s shareholders, “and I would like to thank them for their continued trust and confidence in Carrot.”

Source: Carrot General Insurance Corp.

Topics InsurTech Tech