Israel’s FinTLV Raises $120 Million For FinTech And InsurTech Investments

FinTLV, a Tel Aviv-based fund that specializes in FinTech and InsurTech companies in their “growth stage” phases, announced in a press release that it has closed a new $120 million fund, FinTLV II.

The parent fund already invested $200 million in the space, according to the release.

“The insurance industry is a huge industry undergoing a fundamental disruption,” FinTLV Founding Partner Gil Arazi said in the release. “The revenue of the U.S. insurance industry is five times larger than that of the banking industry; yet the technology used by most insurance companies is antiquated. The leading InsurTech companies drive this revolution. The unique understanding of this market as well as the rich network with many tens of insurance players around the globe give us access to the most lucrative investment opportunities in the field.”

FinTLV stated in the release that the firm’s first fund “invest[ed] in three out of the four most promising InsurTech-related unicorns (Hippo insurance, Next insurance and Unqork).”

Those investments, according to the release, were: leading $150 million round in Hippo Insurance with an investment of $50 million at a valuation of $1.5 billion; investing about $50 million as part of a $250 million round in Next Insurance at a valuation of about $2 billion; and investing in Unqork, which recently was valued at about $2 billion.

Avishai Silvershatz, managing partner of FinTLV, said in the release: “In order to be a successful InsurTech company, a company needs to have not only great technology but also the ability to cope with high regulatory barriers, to meet capital solvency requirement, to establish relationships with other players in the insurance ecosystem, to build expertise in risk assessment and online marketing, to have financial sophistication, to manage M&A activities and more.”

According to the release, FinTLV’s backers have included Clal insurance, Psagot investment house, Poalim Capital Markets, Ayalon insurance, MS&AD, FWD, Reale Mutua, LB, BDO Israel and Matrix.