Category: News

Brella raises $15M Series A to Fuel Nationwide Expansion

NEW YORK, April 22, 2021 / PRNewsire / —  Brella Insurance, Inc. announced it has raised a $15M Series A funding round led by Brewer Lane Ventures to bring Brella’s modern supplemental health solution to employers nationwide. Since inception, Brella has raised over $22M. Brewer Lane Venture’s Founder and Managing Partner, John Kim, will join Brella’s board of directors.

“We’ve made significant progress bringing our modern supplemental health insurance product to market. This financing will fuel nationwide expansion and alliances with leading benefits brokerage firms and strategic partners,” said Brella’s Founder and CEO, Veer Gidwaney. “This is yet another important milestone in our journey towards building our vision of a world where health hardships don’t create financial burdens.” 

A recent study shows 60% of Americans would have to borrow to pay an unexpected $1,000 bill. Yet the average working American has a $1,644 health insurance deductible and a $4,000 annual out-of-pocket max (Source: KFF Employer Health Benefits Survey 2020). So the harsh reality is that an unexpected health issue will almost certainly lead to financial distress for people who have health insurance. It’s no wonder 33% of Americans delayed healthcare in 2020 over concerns about cost.

Traditional supplemental products are simply too narrow in their scope of coverage to help absorb the financial shock of a health issue that leaves American workers suddenly responsible for significant medical bills. On top of limited coverage, these plans have outdated and complex claims and administration processes that don’t make life easy for employers or their employees.

Brella redesigned a tech-enabled supplemental health insurance plan that pays cash if you’re diagnosed with any of 13,000+ conditions from concussions to cancer. Brella makes it easy for employers to enhance their health benefits offering with one truly supplemental policy that’s simple to implement and administer.

“Health insurance is a significant financial burden for American workers, even when they have employer-sponsored insurance. Brella’s combination of technology and insurance plan innovation uniquely positions it to meet this need with broad distribution through employers, brokers, and strategic partnerships,” said Brewer Lane Ventures Founder and Managing Partner, John Kim. 

Along with Brewer Lane Ventures, Brella’s new investors include Fidelity Security Life Insurance Company among others. Existing investors SymphonyAI LLC, Digitalis Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, New York Life Ventures, and Founder Collective, among others, also participated in the round. 

Brella is actively engaging brokers and employers in Texas and will be launching in a series of new states in Q2 2021. To learn more and get in touch, visit joinbrella.com or email sales@joinbrella.com.

Listen in to John Kim in conversation with Brella’s Mike Zarrillo and Laura Cave as they chat about what we’ve learned to date and where we’re headed in 2021 and beyond.

Media Contact

Laura Cave
Director of Marketing
laura@joinbrella.com

About Brella

Founded in 2019, Brella is modernizing supplemental health benefits to build a world where health hardship doesn’t mean financial hardship. Brella’s simple supplemental plan covers 13,000+ conditions and pays cash on diagnosis that you can use for anything you need on the road to recovery. Learn more at joinbrella.com and follow @brellainsurance.

About Brewer Lane Ventures

Brewer Lane Ventures is an early-stage venture firm focused on Insurtech and Fintech companies. Using our deep knowledge of the insurance and financial services industries, we invest in startups that will transform the market for companies and consumers alike. We bring together domain expertise from founding and scaling startups, venture investing, and running Fortune 100 companies. Brewer Lane’s partners and advisors have significant operating and board experience in leading financial services companies like New York Life, Prudential, CIGNA, Fiserv, Franklin Templeton and SoFi.

To learn more, visit us at brewerlane.com or @BrewerLaneVC

AccuRisk Solutions Partners with Brella Insurance to Bring Innovative Supplemental Health Insurance to Texas Employers

March 16, 2021 09:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time

CHICAGO–(BUSINESS WIRE)–AccuRisk Solutions LLC, an industry leader in providing creative and cost-effective solutions to its national network of broker partners, is pleased to announce that they have teamed up with Brella Insurance, Inc. (“Brella”) to offer a new supplemental health insurance benefit to Texas-based employers. The new product, AccuRisk Supplemental Health Powered by Brella, is the first initiative to result from AccuRisk’s subsidiary, AccuRisk Ancillary Solutions that was established in October 2020. Led by Joyce Segall, Ancillary Solutions’ focus is to deliver innovative health solutions.

“They bring a totally different dynamic to the supplemental health market that simplifies that process for the member.”

“I think the complexity of the supplemental health products out there today can be overwhelming to employees and that’s why we’re really excited about Brella,” said AccuRisk CEO Daniel Boisvert. “They bring a totally different dynamic to the supplemental health market that simplifies that process for the member.”

“With Financial Wellness being top of mind, Brella’s simple and easy to use supplemental coverage provides cash to employees when they need it most,” said AccuRisk Ancillary Solutions President, Joyce Segall.

Veer Gidwaney, Founder and CEO of Brella Insurance, commented: “The harsh reality is that unexpected medical issues will almost certainly create financial distress for American workers and their families, even with great health insurance. Wide-ranging supplemental health insurance is more important than ever, and we are thrilled to team up with a market leader like AccuRisk to deliver modern solutions that better protect our joint clients.”

AccuRisk Supplemental Health powered by Brella will be available to employers in Texas starting today. Visit www.joinbrella.com/accurisk to learn more.

About AccuRisk Solutions LLC

AccuRisk Solutions LLC is a Chicago-based Managing General Underwriter focused on providing its producers with innovative insurance products and outstanding customer service. The AccuRisk executive management team is composed of proven leaders within the industry who are driven to provide better results for clients. AccuRisk partners with leading insurance carriers and healthcare visionaries to provide a comprehensive array of healthcare and employee benefit solutions. Their objective is to assist producers in providing their employer clients with unique and cost-effective solutions. Visit www.accurisksolutions.com.

About Brella

Founded in 2019, Brella is modernizing supplemental health benefits to build a world where health hardship doesn’t create financial burdens. Brella’s simple supplemental plan covers 13,000+ conditions and pays cash on diagnosis that can be used for anything you need on the road to recovery. Learn more at joinbrella.com and follow @brellainsurance.

Contacts

Joyce Segall
312-500-4514
JSegall@accurisksolutions.com

Brella Announces Launch in Texas with $7M+ Funding

NEW YORK, August 10, 2020 / PRNewsire / — Brella Insurance, Inc. announced it has launched a modern supplemental health insurance plan for Texas-based employers and their teams. The company also announced its new name, Brella, and that it has raised an additional $1.5M from new investors, bringing their total funding to over $7M.

“Brella covers more conditions than any other supplemental health plan on the market, so we took the opportunity to choose a brand name that evokes the wide-ranging coverage we’re excited to bring to Texas,” said Founder and CEO, Veer Gidwaney. “We’re also excited to welcome a few new investors who bring a wealth of industry experience as we build Brella into a company that ensures health hardships don’t lead to financial hardship.”

Even with health insurance, millions of Americans face financial burdens associated with unexpected medical events, and traditional products like critical illness, hospital indemnity, and accident insurance are simply too narrow in their scope of coverage to be truly supplemental.

That’s where Brella comes in. Brella is a supplemental health insurance plan that pays cash if you’re diagnosed with any of 13,000+ covered conditions—many of which are common complications of COVID-19. Brella aims to make it easy for employers to enhance their employee benefits with a simple supplemental plan that covers more and truly complements their health insurance.

Brella’s new investors include Digitalis, Operator Partners—the investment group that includes Zach Weinberg and Nat Turner of Flatiron Health—as well as angel investor Ron Bouganim. They join Brella’s existing investors, Two Sigma Ventures, Founder Collective, SymphonyAI, and RGAx, among others.

Founded in 2019 by Veer Gidwaney, former CEO and co-founder of Maxwell Health, Brella has partnered with RGAx and Greenhouse Life Insurance Company, subsidiaries of Reinsurance Group of America (RGA), one of the largest global life and health reinsurance companies, to bring this unique solution to the employee benefits market.

The company is actively engaging brokers and employers in Texas. To learn more and get in touch, visit joinbrella.com or email sales@joinbrella.com.

About Brella

Founded in 2019, Brella is modernizing supplemental health benefits to build a world where health hardship doesn’t mean financial hardship. Brella’s simple supplemental plan covers 13,000+ conditions and pays cash on diagnosis that you can use for anything you need on the road to recovery. Learn more at joinbrella.com and follow @brellainsurance.

Brella Insurance Raises $5.5M Seed Round to Modernize Supplemental Health Benefits

NEW YORK, May 21, 2020 – Today, Brella Insurance announces it has raised $5.5M in seed financing to launch a modern supplemental benefit, powered by smart technology, for employers looking to offer better health coverage to employees and their families. The round was led by Two Sigma Ventures, with participation from Founder Collective, RGAX LLC, SymphonyAI, and others.

Rising health insurance costs and reduced coverage have eroded employee health benefits, and out-dated supplemental benefit plans only cover narrow groups of conditions. In one single plan, Brella’s supplemental benefit plan provides wide-ranging, personalized coverage, delivering quick cash payments for up to 76% of issues that require immediate medical attention.1 That’s four times more than legacy plans.

“It’s time we face the fact that millions of Americans are experiencing financial hardship because of a serious health issue,” said Brella founder and CEO, Veer Gidwaney. “Companies that care for their employees and strive to retain top talent want to offer benefits that provide more wide-ranging coverage for their teams and their families. We built Brella because people deserve better.”

Brella’s customizable plans offer the option of additional coverage for chronic conditions and mental health, and with no pre-existing condition exclusions, Brella truly works for everyone. Members can use Brella payouts for medical bills or everyday expenses like childcare, groceries, or transportation until they’re back on their feet.

Brella’s unique claims technology and member app makes it easy to get paid in hours, not weeks. Members can upload photos to file a claim in minutes before they even leave the hospital or urgent care. Plus, they’ll have access to a dedicated concierge team for questions and support.

The executive team brings together a wealth of insurance and tech industry experience. Gidwaney formerly founded and was CEO of Maxwell Health, which was acquired by Sun Life in 2018. Amanda Turcotte, former Chief Actuary and Head of Underwriting at AXA US, is Brella’s Chief Insurance Officer. Their Chief Revenue Officer is Mike Zarrillo, former VP of Large Market Distribution at Guardian Life Insurance Company.

Brella’s advisors include Robert Chatwani, CMO of Atlassian, Richard Mucci who was Former President of Group Protection at Lincoln Financial, and Bruce Mead, Former SVP of Growth at UnitedHealth Group. Veer Gidwaney, Elizabeth Bierbower, Former President of Employer Group Segment at Humana, and Colin Beirne, Partner at Two Sigma Ventures serve on Brella’s Board of Directors.