Sompo International Holdings has entered into a long-term partnership with Flock, a UK-based insurtech that offers insurance solutions to commercial drone operators.
The partnership looks to increase the availability of critical insurance for emerging use-cases in the commercial drone industry. These up-and-coming use-cases include drone cargo deliveries, flying taxi passenger flights, and drone swarm shows.
Through the partnership, Sompo’s aviation and aerospace insurance underwriting experience will be combined with Flock’s real-time risk algorithms.
Flock’s drone insurance products are used to cover for thousands of pilots in the UK and Europe, and the company is also exploring how its proprietary technology could be used to reinvent insurance for other specialty lines. Sompo will support Flock’s growth strategy, and both companies will cooperate to improve accessibility to flexible and transparent policies.
According to Sompo International CEO of international insurance Julian James, both insurance brokers and disruptors need to work together to develop innovative solutions to emerging and evolving risks, such those faced by the commercial drone market.
“The sheer breadth of applications means the global commercial drone market is expected to be worth in excess of US$40 billion by 2025,” said James. “Flock is a market leader in this sector with tremendous potential; it has a proven business model utilising a transferable and scalable technology that has already delivered unique products and an impressive growth story.”
“By combining Flock’s data-driven approach to risk with Sompo International’s significant expertise and established global distribution networks, this partnership marks an important milestone in the evolution of drone insurance globally,” said Flock CEO Ed Leon Klinger.
