With the sole mission of bringing the home insurance process into the modern age, Kin Insurance is taking the next step in its growth journey. The insurtech company announced on Monday its upcoming merger with Omnichannel Acquisition Corp. to be listed as a public company.
This deal follows in the footsteps of several other private companies that have opted to go public through a SPAC merger. Conjoined, the company will be valued at roughly $1.03 billion and plans to trade on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “KI.”
Kin offers a D2C platform that helps homeowners purchase insurance within minutes, and offers a more convenient way to complete tasks like making changes to their insurance policies or filing a claim. Its software analyzes thousands of data points on each property, enabling it to accurately evaluate risk and price policies. This sets Kin apart since the company prioritizes serving customers in places where home insurance is exceptionally crucial. The company currently operates in Florida, California and Louisiana — areas that are highly prone to disastrous weather conditions that are worsening with climate change.
Kin’s SPAC merger will provide the company with an additional $242 million in fresh capital. A portion of the funding will be invested in building out Kin’s product offerings as well as growing its product into more markets.
Kin signed an agreement to acquire an inactive insurance carrier with licenses in over 40 states, bringing the unicorn one step closer to national expansion.
“As we look to expand into new markets, we are strategically focused on states where customers need us the most and where our data and technology advantage are the most impactful,” Sean Harper, Kin’s CEO, told Built In via email.
Kin is operating within an industry that’s worth over $100 billion and continues to grow, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic has expedited digital advancements across a variety of sectors. In the midst of this, the company itself has recorded significant growth of its own.
“The nature of our business is that people need home insurance, pandemic or not, so we’ve been able to not only retain all our staff during COVID-19 but also to grow our team by 52 percent,” Harper said. “Looking ahead, we intend to continue hiring the best and brightest talent to help elevate our data-centric insurance solutions that address the needs of today’s world.”
The transaction is set to close in Q4 this year. The rest of Kin’s new funding will go toward expanding its 300-person team with a focus on filling key positions within the company's marketing, product, engineering, finance and legal departments.
