Amplify Life Insurance, a digital-first life insurance platform focused on helping customers build wealth through permanent life insurance, announced an investment round led by Munich Re Ventures (MRV), with follow on investment by Crosslink Capital, Greycroft, and Conversion Capital. The investment brings Amplify's total funding to $25.1 million.
Amplify is the first digital platform that offers customers the ability to invest in public markets with their life insurance premiums, accessing tax-efficient returns throughout their lifetime via a product that has been historically available primarily to affluent and more mature demographics. Amplify's digital interface provides customers with a customized policy based on their financial goals, risk tolerance, and underwriting risk profile. Customers can also choose how much of their premiums are invested in tax-efficient, high-growth investments and how much goes towards their life insurance coverage. With built-in capabilities for expedited underwriting and policy delivery, most Amplify customers are able to get a life insurance investment policy within days and without a medical exam.
Munich Re Ventures, the venture capital arm of Munich Re Group, one of the world's leading providers of reinsurance, primary insurance, and insurance-related risk solutions, brings institutional expertise and deep knowledge in scaling insurers and insurtechs. MRV's insights and aspirations within the insurance industry align with Amplify's approach to permanent life insurance and goal of expanding consumer access to innovative insurance products.
"With Munich Re Ventures at the table, Amplify gains an industry leading investor whose insurance expertise is primed to propel Amplify through the next phase of growth,"
- Hanna Wu, Co-founder and CEO at Amplify
Additionally, Amplify has added former CEO and current President of Personal Capital, Jay Shah, to its Board of Directors. Jay has decades of executive operating experience scaling up consumer-direct fintech brands like E-Loan and Personal Capital. Additionally, Jay has held several successful Board and Advisor roles including Ellie Mae and One. Jay's addition will bring tremendous value to Amplify's ongoing strategy and continued growth.
Having spent the majority of my career running and advising fintechs across the consumer lending, banking and wealth verticals, I couldn't be more excited to bring my operational knowhow to the board of Amplify, Pattern recognition is an invaluable way to accelerate growth so I'm looking forward to unlocking great value for Amplify's customers with Hanna and the team, said Shah.
With this new funding round, Amplify is focused on reducing friction and human-to-human administrative processes in policy customization, payments, underwriting, servicing, claims management, and more. As part of the move towards building a customer-centric, easy-to-use platform, this investment accompanies a partnership whereby Munich Re will help Amplify implement a fully automated underwriting process through alitheia, Munich Re Life US' risk assessment and instant decisioning platform.
Permanent life insurance is a powerful financial product that has completely flown under the radar during the insurtech boom of the last five years, Amplify is using new and innovative digital-first distribution methods to bring the financial security and wealth generation possibilities of a Variable Universal Life Insurance product to a new, younger market. It is a privilege to be part of Amplify's journey as they provide this powerful tool to the masses, said Ben Bergsma, Investment Principal at Munich Re Ventures.
With the help of MRV and Munich Re, Amplify will further build the life insurance ecosystem needed to democratize permanent life insurance. Amplify will continue to focus on expanding the digital life insurance offerings including a mobile application to be launched later this year that will allow customers to manage their life insurance policies and investment portfolios. The company will also hire across teams including engineering, product, data science, customer experience, and marketing.
About Amplify Life Insurance
Amplify is the first digital permanent life insurance platform offering customers direct access to products where you access tax-efficient investment returns and obtain lifelong protection. It's founded by serial entrepreneurs with industry and technology expertise looking to modernize the $70B permanent life insurance industry. Amplify provides an AI-enabled educational journey, product recommendation and quoting, and real-time pre-underwriting to help customers learn about plans and customize a policy for their needs. Founded in 2019, Amplify aims to help customers achieve health and financial wellness. Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, Amplify is open to all 50 states, and has served thousands of customers.
About Munich Re Ventures
Munich Re Ventures is the venture capital arm of Munich Re Group, one of the world's leading providers of reinsurance, primary insurance, and insurance-related risk solutions. With more than $1 billion in assets under management, Munich Re Ventures invests in the most innovative start-ups transforming the future of risk and risk transfer. MRV's experienced investors are financially-driven while focused on the strategic interests of Munich Re and the broader insurance industry. MRV works closely with Munich Re Group businesses across the globe to fund and partner with the best emerging companies developing new technologies and business models – and risks – for tomorrow's world.