The problem

Europe’s motor insurance industry is vast. In 2022 in Italy alone, the market was worth €15 billion, with 43 million policies sold. 

And yet motor insurance still has its shortcomings, which has meant it has often failed to engage meaningfully with consumers.

For one, insurers struggle to adapt and capitalise on emerging technologies that could revolutionise the industry—such as connected technologies and telematics (systems that update as they receive data), which might allow enhanced customers offerings and nuanced price differentiations. Insurers also tend to have a hard time partnering with non-traditional distributors, because of their rigidity and lack of digitisation. All these things ultimately punish consumers, who are left with suboptimal and standardised services that don’t reflect individual preferences and driving patterns. 

Failing to innovate puts traditional insurers at a disadvantage compared to disruptors, who have captured significant market share by offering digital solutions, aggressive pricing policies, and more personalised insurance products. 

The solution

Connexa is an innovative turnkey telematics solution for insurance partners, allowing traditional insurers to offer flexible, competitive, and personalised insurance. As opposed to other ‘disruptors’, Connexa is a Managing General Agent (MGA) working directly with traditional insurers, helping them connect with distributors and making those partnerships far more productive and effective. 

Their innovative solution is a customised/white-label app, with a proprietary telematics device connected to the app. This allows customer driving data collection, as well as gamification technology to allow improvement on driver behaviour (e.g. scoring on driving style, a ‘green score’ to monitor ecological footprint), which feeds a pricing algorithm capable of generating personalised insurance pricing for each customer. Connexa is also supported by a generative AI chatbot for onboarding, customer care, and customer management. 

They are already working with Hannover Re (the third biggest reinsurer globally), Compass (Mediobanca’s consumer lending company), as well as AON (Italy’s biggest insurance broker, second largest in the world) and ITAS (a traditional Italian insurance carrier). 

Why we’re excited to invest

Elena Vittone, investor at Founders Factory, says: “Traditional motor insurers face challenges in engaging consumers, competing with disruptive market entrants, and innovating in technology and distribution channels. We’re hugely excited to work with Robin and the Connexa team to bring their turnkey IoT solution to market and innovate the motor insurance market, in Italy and beyond.”