Obie, a real estate-focused insurance technology company, has raised $25.5 million in a funding round led by Battery Ventures.
Since the company’s last raise — a series A of $10.4 million – nearly two years ago, the startup says it went from underwriting insurance for more than $3 billion worth of real estate to $20 billion. It has now raised a total of $39 million since its launch in 2017.
Obie’s software specifically targets small to medium-sized apartment owners who own single-family homes and/or larger apartment buildings.
Chicago-based Obie and a graduate of Y Combinator says his platform stands out because it offers instant quotes (by instant, they mean in about five minutes). The company also claims to save policyholders up to 25-30% compared to other insurance premiums.
While the startup declined to share its valuation, COO and co-founder Aaron Letzeiser said Obie was “able to deliver a significant increase in valuation” from the 2021 Series A round.
“Our team has pioneered an embeddable solution that seamlessly integrates insurance offerings across our partners’ channels, including wherever a real estate investor buys or manages their investment properties online,” said CEO and co-founder Ryan Letzeiser.
Obie says it has “thousands of customers” and now partners with more than 75 proptech companies to offer insurance, such as Roofstock, Flock Homes, Baselane, Awning and Marketplace Homes. It has seen a 300% growth in written premiums over the past two years, said Aaron Letzeiser.
Image Credits: Obie
In the past year, the company has increased its margins by 40% and is on track to improve another 25% by the end of 2023, he added.
“Our bread and butter is the rental market for 1 to 4 unit single family homes and we provide coverage in all 50 states,” Aaron added. “There are over 18 million residential real estate investors in the US, and over 90% of them are small ‘mom and pop’ investors who spend over $60 billion a year on insurance premiums, so there’s plenty of room for Obie to run here.”
Michael Brown, General Partner of Battery Ventures, believes there are “very few digital competitors to Obie, as landlord insurance is a nuanced, specialized insurance product.”
He wrote via email: “Obie’s focus on this market – and its smart use of data, proprietary risk management tools and embedded industry partnerships – has enabled it to develop a unique system to generate near-instantaneous, competitive quotes where landlords can access wherever they buy or manage real estate, such as within their broker portal or their own property management system, we feel that Obie is on a path to building a valuable, next-generation digital landlord insurance brand.”
