Sproutt Insurance, the next evolution of life insurance, announced today that it has launched and secured $12 million in Series A funding from State of Mind Ventures (SMOV), Moneta Capital, and Guardian Life. Sproutt sets out to do what many of today’s players in life insurance do not: celebrate life.
Sproutt’s mission is to look after the lives of those who look after theirs. Using their “Quality of Life Index” (QL Index), Sproutt believes it has never been easier to blend data analytics and human-aligned health insights, and then use artificial intelligence (AI) to discern a person’s life potential to match them with the best life insurance providers and policy.
“We don’t come from the life insurance industry,” said Sproutt’s CEO and Co-Founder Yoav Shaham. “But we have a lot of experience in unlocking the value of data in traditional markets. For decades life insurance providers have mainly sought to punish negative lifestyle choices such as smoking when calculating pricing. As crazy as it sounds, until now the industry has almost never even tried to reward people for being healthy; for being active, eating and sleeping well, or living a balanced life. Sproutt ensures that people who make positive lifestyle choices that improves their longevity are supported and rewarded with the best policies, and that they adopt these good behaviors, as it means that we all will have increasingly less expenses.”
Andrew McMahon, Executive Vice President at Guardian Life Insurance Company, one of the nation’s largest mutual life insurers, said, “Sproutt’s vision of personalized life insurance directly aligns with Guardian’s focus on providing an exceptional, effortless customer experience. We began working with Sproutt in 2018 and soon realized the potential impact their technology could have on our business and the industry at large, as evidenced by our investment. Their ambitious use of data and artificial intelligence across the customer journey is part of a broader transformation of the industry and complements our technology driven approach to customer acquisition and engagement.”
Look at the facts, life insurance is a $130 billion market that has seen a 45% decline in policyholders over the last 20 years. The industry has failed to convince consumers that their product is valuable, even when the premise of insuring your life and protecting your family is as critical as ever.
So why is this? Are people assuming they will live forever? One of the massive issues in the market is legacy systems, attitudes, and thinking that are tied to an old-world model. “This industry is like data spaghetti that nobody has been able to untangle,” said Shaham. “We started with a clean plate and asked ourselves, how can we measure somebody’s quality of life, and how can we deliver the best experience and policy based on that?”
The ability to discern “positive data” is particularly important when we see consumers providing huge amounts of information about their personal health. So whether you’re eating well, running twice a week, practicing yoga, quitting smoking, etc. are all contributing to a lifestyle measure that is not accurately priced in the premiums they pay today for life insurance.
Enter “Gaia” (guy-a), the Guided Artificial Intelligence Assessment technology that powers the Sproutt QL Index. Based on established research of how various lifestyle behaviors impact longevity, Gaia is able to assess and correlate a variety of previously siloed human health attributes such as sleeping patterns, eating habits, and whether you own a pet, and then leverage them for a more precise assessment of a specific individual’s health. The assessment process and resulting QL Index score are used to provide personal insights, recommendations, and best matching life insurance product.
“Breathing new life and positivity into an old industry has been both a challenge and a privilege. Sproutt believes life insurance is critical, because it protects that which is most dear to us: our families. This is why life should be celebrated,” said Assaf Henkin, President of Sproutt. “We saw how to use data and AI for good to benefit consumers and disrupt an industry that has failed to modernize. Sproutt provides people with a high quality experience and guides them to the life insurance they deserve, many times the same day they apply.”
About Sproutt
Sproutt is a new kind of life insurance company that loves life and rewards those who love theirs. It is our purpose is to use data and AI to finally reward people who live a healthy life with the best life insurance. We believe it’s important to live a balanced life that includes a reasonable amount of exercise, eating well, and getting a proper amount of sleep. But we also believe that owning pets, being surrounded by friends and family, and feeling supported by your community, are equally important factors on longevity that should be rewarded. Whether inquiring about life insurance, or actually purchasing coverage through Sproutt, we believe it is our mission to educate and encourage everyone we meet to embrace a healthy lifestyle. For more information about Sproutt and what it means to “celebrate life”, please visit www.sproutt.com.