Meet Evy, a French startup working on extended warranty and product protection insurance. The company has raised a $6.5 million seed round (€6.5 million) from Sequoia, La Familia VC, Global Founders Capital and several business angels.
Evy wants to bring the AppleCare experience to other brands and retailers. Basically, the startup wants to create a seamless experience when it comes to product protection at checkout and adding some nice touches out of the box.
The startup will act as an insurance broker and partner with Wakam to cover the risk – but may tie up with other insurance companies in the future. On the other hand, it partners with retailers to include EV insurance products on their websites or try to sell extended warranties in stores.
For example, EV has signed a partnership with Manomano, a home improvement and gardening e-commerce platform that EV has covered over the years. When a customer purchases a product on Manomano, they can add multi-year coverage against damage, destruction and/or theft.
What makes EV different from legacy players is that it can create customized insurance products in less time. For example, ManoMano has 25 different product categories in four countries. Evy has created 25 customized insurance programs in just a few months.
Similarly, retailers can create deeper integrations with AV as the insurance startup focuses on API-based integrations.
If there is a problem with the product, Evy will first try to find a solution to repair the product. He plans to put together a maintenance network. If not, EV will bill the customer.
And since EV shares some revenue with its retail partners, the distribution system should work well. Some large retailers, such as Darty or Best Buy, generate significant revenue from insurance products. EV wants to provide a solution for long-tail e-commerce and brick-and-mortar stores.
EV is not just an insurance game. There is a great deal of perspective around product life cycles. “Ultimately, we want to provide all customer services related to products. They are useful for both the merchant and the end user,” founder and CEO Simon Kemun told me.
“They are all turning to a circular economy. We know when a product is under warranty and there are no incidents. We can offer you a trade-in so you can get the latest product,” he added.
There are some companies in the US that focus on the same industry, such as Clyde and Extend. In France, EV competes with Net.
