The online insurer Luko is going under the British flag. In difficulty, the start-up created in 2018 and specialized in 100% online home insurance will be bought by the British group Admiral (direct insurer), which owns L’olivier Assurance in France. The amount of this acquisition was not disclosed. It does not include the German insurer Coya and the unpaid rent insurance specialist Unkle, acquired by Luko in 2022.
The young insurer was gambling on his survival. On Tuesday, he asked to be placed in an accelerated safeguard procedure in order to be able to spread out the repayment of his 45 million euros in debt. The insurtech, which claims 450,000 policyholders, was penalized by the impossibility last year to raise new funds after its two acquisitions. “To build a profitable insurer, it takes between eight and ten years and 150 million euros of investment, explains Raphaël Vullierme, CEO and co-founder of Luko, which has raised 70 million euros since its launch. However, the financing market turned around in the middle of our journey. »
To get out of the rut, the latter assures that Luko, considered one of the most promising fintechs in its sector, had a choice: “Others were ready to invest. But we preferred the Admiral group, which will provide us with stable, long-term financing and will allow us to develop. The young shoot, which employs 185 people, plans to get into car insurance. “ We have many points in common with Luko and we are also complementary, says Pascal Gonzalvez, CEO of the online insurer L’olivier Assurance. We will rely on the start-up, – which will retain its brand and identity – and on its technology, to accelerate the development of Admiral in France, particularly in home insurance. »
