Everyone from Jay Z and Will Smith to Google is getting into the life insurance game.
Ethos, a life insurance startup, has raised $35 million in a new funding round. This round was led by Accel and saw backing from GV, Google’s venture capital arm, as well as additional funding from Sequoia Capital and Arrive, Jay Z’s Roc Nation investment company.
This latest round of funding brings the total to more than $46 million, reports CNBC, putting the company’s valuation at over $100 million. In the previous round, Ethos received investments totaling $11.5 million from the likes of Will Smith’s family office, Robert Downey Jr.’s Downey Ventures, Kevin Durant’s Durant Company, and Sequoia Capital and Arrive.
Unlike most life insurance companies, Ethos offers term life insurance, which lasts between 10 and 30 years. This allows the policyholder to pay for a fixed period of time, thereby making the policy less costly to the holder.
Ethos also claims that it can process life insurance applications in a matter of minutes, rather than weeks and that claims are paid out “within weeks.” The company is partnered with Assurity Life Insurance Company to provide the insurance to consumers.
As part of this latest round of funding, Accel partner Nate Niparko will join Ethos’ board of directors. GV general partner Tyson Clark will serve as an advisor to the board.
