The start-up currently insures a third of the UK’s food delivery market through partnerships with Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats

Zego has raised $42m (£34m) to fund its expansion into operations across Europe and double its workforce from 75 to 150.

It will use the investment to enhance its tech platform and launch operations in several more European countries by the end of the year, adding to its current bases in the UK, Ireland and Spain. This investment comes at a time when Zego has grown 900% over the past 12 months.

The firm is looking to hire engineers, data scientists and specialists in operations and pricing.

Funding

The insurtech has raised $51m (£41m) to date with new investors Latitude joining existing backers Balderton Capital and Tom Stafford at DST Global to participate in the latest funding round.

The Series B funding was led by Target Global – a pan-European investment firm which specialises in fintech and mobility.

Other backers include TransferWise founder Taavet Hinirikus, who will join Zego’s board, as well as Target Global’s partner Ben Kaminski.

Kaminski said: “With the growth of new mobility services, Zego identified a major gap in the insurance market and created a unique business model to fill it, which the incumbents will find very difficult to replicate. The potential of this company is almost limitless, and I fully expect to see its UK success mirrored across Europe and beyond in the coming years.

“I’ve been following Zego for some time and have been hugely impressed by the team and their ability to rapidly roll out innovative new insurance products and quickly gain market share. This investment will be a springboard for further growth that will see them continue to shake up the insurance sector.”

Urbanisation

Sten Saar, chief executive and co-founder of Zego, said: “The world is becoming more urbanised and because of this, we are moving from traditional ownership of vehicles to shared usership. This means that the rigid model of insurance that has existed for hundreds of years is no longer fit for purpose. We are extremely proud to be at the forefront of change.”

The insurtech was founded in 2016 with a mission to transform the insurance sector by creating products which reflected the changing world of transport. Since then it has since expanded its B2B offering to serve the new mobility services which include ride hailing, ride sharing, car rental and scooter sharing.

“We’ve already come a long way since then, and the latest funding round paves the way for an exciting new chapter as we expand through Europe,” Saar added.

Zego currently insures a third of the UK’s food delivery market, mostly through partnerships with Deliveroo, Just Eat and Uber Eats.