Zego – the first insurtech start-up in the UK to achieve unicorn status – has unveiled plans to expand its reach across European insurance market.
The London-based commercial motor insurer has announced that it will be rolling out its services in the Netherlands, with plans to ramp up its presence in France also in the works, according to a report by City A.M.
The firm also told the news outlet that the intention was to take on a bigger slice of the £20 billion European fleet insurance market with a new product that uses technology to help businesses reduce premiums.
Read more: Zego expands to Spain
“Commercial vehicles now account for over 13% of the vehicles on our roads, the highest proportion ever recorded, and this number is rising, as technology continues to decentralise our shopping and travel habits,” said Zego chief executive officer Sten Saar. “For the people and businesses managing these fleets, flexibility and control are both highly sought after, but driver behaviour remains a huge variable that is notoriously difficult to influence.”
Saar added that telematics and data science have been proven to help improve driving behaviour, and “when combined with a financial incentive, they have great potential to make fleets safer and cheaper to run.”
“At Zego, we are using this data to understand risk better than traditional insurers and other insurtechs, so we can offer more accurate pricing and more control; both of which have halo effects that improve life for everyone,” he said.
The firm also said that it is looking to capitalise on consolidation in the European insurance industry, citing that between 2019 and 2020, 9% of insurers withdrew from the Dutch market.
The expansion in France and the Netherlands is part of a wider rollout of its products and services across the continent, Zego added. The insurtech firm also told City A.M. that it was planning to expand into six more European countries this year.
Zego is one of the top insurtech companies in the UK.
