Ethos Raises $35M in Series B Financing Led by Accel to Modernize the Life Insurance Industry

New round from Accel, GV and existing investors to help Ethos deliver on its mission to close the life insurance coverage gap for millions of Americans

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Ethos

Oct 30, 2018, 07:00 ET

SAN FRANCISCO, Oct. 30, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Ethos, the company making simple, ethical life insurance, announced today that it has raised a Series B financing of $35 million led by Accel, a leading early and growth-stage venture capital firm. Additional participating investors include Google Ventures (GV), previous investors Sequoia Capital and Arrive, a subsidiary of Roc Nation, and a debt facility from Silicon Valley Bank. Accel partner Nate Niparko will join the Ethos board of directors and GV General Partner Tyson Clark will become an advisor to the company's board.

Ethos is the leader in life insurance innovation, processing thousands of customers and applications every month. Ethos has simplified and modernized life insurance through its proprietary technology to better serve American families. The company has seen robust growth in 2018, with revenue, customers and applications growing by more than 400 percent in just the past four months.

"The life insurance industry has had a product and reputation problem for a long time," said Nate Niparko, partner at Accel. "Ethos takes a technology-first approach to eliminate friction from the applications and claims process for its customers and has built a brand that people love and trust. We're excited to partner with Peter, Lingke and the rest of the Ethos team to help modernize life insurance."

The new round of financing - which brings Ethos' total funding to more than $46 million - will help the company serve growing demand from customers, and accelerate its mission to transform the $955 billion life insurance market into a more modern, digitally-driven industry.

"Ethos is proving that life insurance is something that can be bought by consumers, and not sold," said, Peter Colis, CEO and co-founder, Ethos. "We are proud to partner with Accel, Sequoia and GV on our mission to make simple, ethical life insurance."

The process for getting a life insurance policy on Ethos is fast, easy and inexpensive, turning a process that was once like going to the DMV to more like shopping online. Using Ethos, most people can apply and qualify for a policy after a ten-minute application versus the ten weeks it takes through a more traditional process. There is always a non-commissioned licensed agent available to give unbiased guidance.

By applying data science and predictive analytics to determine an individual's life expectancy, more than 99 percent of Ethos customers have required no medical exam or blood test to get a policy. The company partners with life insurance industry leaders, including Assurity Life and Munich Re, to help deliver quality life insurance products to its customers.

ABOUT ETHOS
Ethos is a new kind of life insurance built for people who don't have time for fine print, extra doctors appointments or hidden fees. Ethos uses the power of technology and predictive analytics to modernize the life insurance process and align products with what families want and need during critical times in their lives. An application is fast and easy, turning a process that used to take weeks into a ten-minute experience for most customers. Backed by Sequoia Capital, Accel, Google Ventures, Stanford University and Arrive, a subsidiary of Roc Nation, Ethos is headquartered in San Francisco and licensed in 49 states. To learn more, visit www.getethos.com.

ABOUT ACCEL

Accel is a leading venture capital firm that partners with exceptional founders with unique insights, from inception through all phases of private company growth. Atlassian, Braintree, Cloudera, Crowdstrike, DJI, DocuSign, Dropbox, Etsy, Facebook, Flipkart, Jet, Pillpack, Qualtrics, Slack, Spotify, Supercell, Tenable, Venmo and Vox Media are among the companies the firm has backed over the past 35+ years. The firm seeks to understand entrepreneurs as individuals, appreciate their originality and play to their strengths. Because greatness doesn't have a stereotype. For more, visit www.accel.com, www.facebook.com/accel or www.twitter.com/accel.

SOURCE Ethos