Startup Authentic Insurance (Authentic) has raised US$5.5 million in a seed round to launch its ‘Captive in a Box’ platform. The round was led by Slow Ventures with participation from Altai Ventures. Based in New York and Ohio, Authentic is made up of professionals from technology and insurance companies, including Next Insurance, Amazon and Canary Consulting. The company’s turnkey platform makes it possible for SaaS companies, franchises or associations to launch captive insurance programmes for their members. Captive in a Box handles the logistics of setting up a captive insurance company, including legal, underwriting, reinsurance and capital and claims management. Authentic allows its partners to receive commission on every policy sold and to keep the majority of underwriting profit. MGV, Upper90, Clocktower, Commerce Ventures, Mischief Ventures, Core Innovation Capital also invested in the seed round, among others. Sam Lessin, managing partner at Slow Venture, comments: “Authentic's Captive in a Box allows them to sidestep the current distribution problems of adverse risk selection that the insurance industry has struggled to overcome." Cole Riccardi, CEO and founder of Authentic, also comments: "Captive insurance provides many benefits to organisations and their members, but until now, setting one up was a very long and expensive process." He adds: "Through Authentic's platform, anyone can create their own captive insurance programme and realise the benefits within days."
