Descartes Underwriting, the Paris-based parametric insurer for climate and emerging risks, announced a strategic investment by Battery Ventures, a technology-focused investment firm.
Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.
The transaction enables Battery to join the company’s shareholder base while all existing investors retain a large majority of their holdings.
San Francisco-based Marcus Ryu, partner at Battery Ventures and former CEO and co-founder of Guidewire Software, will join Descartes as an observer. Guidewire Software is a $20 billion company that provides cloud-based core systems and analytics for the P/C insurance industry.
“Over the past six years, Descartes has established itself as the leading parametric insurance business for climate-related risks, remaining true to our scientific approach to risk transfer,” commented Tanguy Touffut, CEO and co-founder, in a statement.
“Battery’s investment is a major endorsement of our mission and a strong signal of our commitment to the North American market, already our largest market,” Touffut continued.
“Over 20 years of serving the global P/C insurance industry informs my keen interest in applying technology to address the enormous underinsurance gap,” according to Ryu. “Parametric insurance is one of — if not the — most promising approaches to transfer risk efficiently, and like many industry participants I believe it will continue to grow in importance and adoption.”
He went on to say that the team at Descartes Underwriting “is uniquely credentialed in this domain, and I am very impressed with the market and thought leadership position they have built with brokers, capacity partners and insureds in a short period.”
Descartes operates in over 60 countries through 19 offices across four continents, serving a diverse client base with 230 professionals. In 2024, the company generated over $200 million in gross written premium.
About Descartes
Descartes offers a full range of insurance products, including cost-effective and fully transparent parametric solutions with predefined and swift claims payouts, Descartes has already provided insurance capacity of more than $10 billion to its clients through corporate brokers. Descartes comprises Descartes Insurance, a full-stack insurer operating in several European countries, and Descartes Underwriting, a global MGA backed by a panel of tier-one risk carriers. The company has been financed with over $141 million by investors including Highland Europe, BlackFin, Serena, Cathay, Eurazeo, and Battery
Source: Descartes
Topics Carriers
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