Honey Insurance secures the largest seed round in Australian history for a tech company (AU$15.5M), launches smart home and contents

Honey Insurance has secured AU$15.5 million in seed funding, the largest seed round in Australian history for a technology company, as it launches the only smart home and contents designed for how Australians live today. 

The seed round was led by institutional investors, including RACQ, PEXA, Metricon, ABN Group, Mirvac, AGL, SFG, REI and Apex Capital. Other investors include Larry Diamond, CEO and Founder of Zip; Tim Fung, Co-founder & CEO of Airtasker; Anthony Eisen, CEO of Afterpay; Graham Mirabito, ex-CEO of Corelogic,  Peter Tonagh, former CEO of News Corp Australia and Foxtel, among others. 

Led by serial entrepreneur Richard Joffe, the co-founder and CEO of Park Assist and Stella.ai in the US, Honey Insurance gives customers $250 worth of smart home sensors and rewards them with lower premiums from day one by keeping their homes safer. This is the first time an insurance company has used technology to disrupt a AU$10 billion market dominated by a small number of old-school players. 

Honey Insurance also counts a number of executives from the technology and insurance sectors as part of their team, including Joel Tow, former VP of Engineering at Airtasker; Simon Farrugia, former Director of Product at Campaign Monitor and Domain; Angelo Azar, former Head of Operations at Hollard Insurance and Eoghan Trehy, Chairman of Insurtech Australia.

The funding will be used to rapidly scale the Honey Insurance team, adding a further 80 people over the next 12 months. Honey Insurance will also invest heavily in research and development, underscoring its commitment to provide Australians with smart home and contents designed for how they live today. 

Richard Joffe, Founder and CEO of Honey Insurance said: “There are so many great things about living in Australia, but applying for home and contents insurance felt like travelling back in time thirty years. The sign-up process was slow, unsophisticated and left me totally clueless as to whether I had the right level of protection or not. I knew there had to be a smarter way.

“We use smart data to simplify a process that’s currently far too confusing than it needs to be, and to ensure our cover is fast and easy to buy, always fairly priced and it’s simple to make a claim.”

Honey Insurance customers receive complimentary smart sensors ($250 value) to help monitor for avoidable mishaps like fire, water leaks or intrusion. 

Honey Insurance’s policies are also designed for how people live today – from those that have turned their homes into a WFH office as they continue to adopt the new ways of work post-pandemic, to coverage for friends and family that are simply staying over for a few days. 

Richard Joffe continued: “At Honey Insurance we invest in our customers by giving them smart technology for the simple fact that 50% of insurance claims are avoidable. We believe providing protection upfront is just as important as being there for them in the event of a claim. How many other insurance companies do you know that will literally pay out on day one?”

Honey Insurance is underwritten by industry giant, RACQ, which was the most awarded insurer in the home insurance category at this month’s Mozo People’s Choice Awards.

David Carter, CEO of RACQ, said: “RACQ is pleased to be partnering with Honey Insurance as it innovates, helps customers reduce risk in their lives, and delivers peace of mind. Investing in Honey Insurance is an opportunity to share in the innovation and increase the scale of our insurance portfolio to benefit our 1.8 million members and their communities.”

About Honey Insurance

Honey Insurance is the only smart home and contents designed for how Australians live today. The purpose of home insurance should be to protect customers. We do just that by giving them $250 worth of smart home sensors to help keep them safe from day one, and prevent avoidable incidents.  

Honey Insurance is easy to understand and jargon free. We use data to ensure our cover is always fairly priced and that customers can be signed up in five minutes.  

Backed by RACQ, we prioritise prevention to keep your home safer through policies and covers designed for how people live today –  from those that have turned their homes into a WFH office to coverage for friends and family that are simply staying over and everything in between.