Professional Adviser

Challenger insurer set to enter protection market

After securing £180m start-up funding

Cloud technology
Daniel Pender: "We are creating what we think protection should look like in today's digital age."
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Entrepreneurial start-up business Gryphon Group Holdings has raised £180m in funding to design and build an 'insurance challenger' that seeks to protect more families in the UK.

The insuretech company will focus initially on life, critical illness and income protection and will announce the insurer's brand name later in the year. It will be harnessing digital and cloud based technologies.

According to Gryphon Group Holdings, the new company "will be people-centred not technology-led, putting customer and adviser needs at the heart of its business".

Its co-founders are chief executive officer Daniel Pender, former executive director at Prudential and UK life chief financial officer at Zurich; and chief operating officer, Simon Davis, former chief risk officer at Guardian and corporate services director at Admin Re.

Advised by Craven Street Capital, Gryphon Group Holdings has raised £180m in funding for the new venture from investors Leadenhall Capital Partners and Punter Southall Group. The business is subject to regulatory approval.

The core platform technology partner is Liss Systems, a UK company owned by Nasdaq-listed technology group, EXL. The digital interface technology partner is Space.

Pender said: "The insurance industry plays a pivotal role in our society but there is work to be done to keep pace with the evolving needs of customers and advisers. We felt there was a tremendous opportunity for an insurance challenger to build a business around the people it serves, and in doing so, establish strong long-term relationships built on trust."

'What protection should look like'

He added: "We are creating what we think protection should look like in today's digital age. Technology has moved on remarkably and our ambition is to embrace that, bringing an intuitive customer offer and adviser experience to market. This will give certainty to advisers when recommending our products and enable families to feel confident that we can offer the insurance that they need."

Punter Southall Group CEO Jonathan Punter said: "We already know there is a significant protection gap in the UK. This translates into a great opportunity for an insurance company that can solve the issues of customer trust and adviser experience. This company, with its new approach, will be well placed to meet these challenges head on."

Pender added: "One of our key advantages is that, from a technology perspective, we are starting from a blank canvas with no legacy systems or constraints. This allows us to frame everything around the customer and adviser when creating the product, systems and processes. Ultimately, we want it to be intuitive, simple and easy."

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