Trov, an on-demand insurance startup, plans to provide trip insurance for Waymo’s soon-to-be launched self-driving ride-hailing service in Arizona.
This is the San Francisco-based startup’s first foray into what it calls “the mobility space,” and it says that more coverage products will follow with a focus on serving “both today’s and tomorrow’s modes of transport.” Trov initially launched with a focus on helping individuals insure their possessions via its platform, which lets users turn the coverage on and off with a swipe of a finger on a smartphone.
Waymo, formerly Google’s self-driving car project, plans to launch a commercial ride-hailing service for members of the public in Phoenix, Ariz., in 2018. (Google’s corporate parent is Alphabet Inc.) Plans call for Trov to offer trip insurance customized for passengers of the service, and the coverage will be underwritten by a nonadmitted affiliate of Munich Re. Trov said that lost property, trip interruption benefits and medical expense reimbursement will be among the coverage protections for passengers, for the duration of each trip.
Trov founder and CEO Scott Walchek said the partnership reflects the convergence of the futures of both transportation and insurance.
“Waymo is making personal transportation more effortless, and so it follows that all aspects of a journey – including insurance – should be equally painless, with passengers’ safety and peace of mind paramount,” Walchek said in prepared remarks. “We are genuinely excited to be partnering with Waymo in developing innovations for insuring people and property in the evolution of personal mobility.”
Trov, founded in 2012, has raised over $97 million in venture financing to date, including a $56 million Series D round disclosed in April 2017. Munich Re/HSB Ventures led the Series D financing.
Trov launched in Australia in May 2016, where it is underwritten by Suncorp, and the UK in December 2016, where AXA is its underwriting partner.
Source: Trov