French Insurtech Luko Acquires Germany’s Coya, Obtains Insurance License From German Regulator

Acquisitions are done for quite a number of reasons, From venturing into a market using the acquired startup to acquiring licenses that are limited to companies based in certain countries/markets, to meeting regulators’ demands, etc. For Luko, the idea behind acquiring Coya was to both enter into a new market as well as acquire a license to operate.

French Insurtech platform Luko is acquiring Coya, a German insurance startup as a way of venturing into the market and increasing its European presence. The acquisition will also help Luko acquire a license needed to operate in the country from the country’s regulator. Although the terms of the deal were not disclosed, Luko says that it is a 100 percent deal automatically making investors of the acquired company Luko’s. Some of these investors include Valar Ventures, Headline and Roland Berger’s family office.

When Luko started, it was a company insuring homes for renters and owners. The company made gains from the fact that insurance is a huge deal in France as people have to show proof that their homes have been insured once they buy or rent a home in the country. The company has introduced a variety of insurance products and services since it started with insuring homes. What makes Luko stand out from every other insurance company or startup is its direct-to-customer model which allows people to sign up on either its website or app, thus providing a one-on-one relationship between the company and its customers.

Luko also thrives on efficiency. The company understands that being swift is one thing that customers want so it tries to be as efficient as possible; efficient with payments, resolving complaints, etc. Customers can also chat with the company directly on its app and receive money swiftly.

The company is big on transparency and takes a 30 percent cut on monthly payments. Everything else is brought together and used for compensation and whatever is left at the end of the year from the 70 percent can be used for donations by customers.

Luko boasts of 220,000 customers in France and Spain where it started accepting clients a few months back.

Its acquisition Coya provides insurance products ranging from home insurance, private liability, dog liability to bike insurance. Coya has been renamed Luko Insurance AG following its acquisition and its customer base of 80,000 will be joining Luko’s, bringing the latter’s customer base to 300,000.

Thanks to the acquisition, Luko has also acquired an operating license in Germany and plans to become a market leader in the European market. While the company is looking at reaching one million customers by next year, it plans on hiring 100 new talents this year.