Insurtech Leader Ethos Raises Life Insurance Policy Limit to $2 Million

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Oct 12, 2021, 09:00 ET

AUSTIN, Texas, Oct. 12, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Ethos, the insurtech leader that's transforming the life insurance space, has significantly increased the size of the life insurance policies it will offer.

Effective October 6, 2021, Ethos will offer policies up to $2 million for Americans between 20-50. Ethos doubled the policy limit for those 51-60 from $500K to $1M and for those 61-65 from $250k to $500K, all available in minutes and without a medical exam or blood test. Its expansive approach to underwriting means Ethos is able to offer a policy for over 90% of the U.S. adult population up to age 80, regardless of gender, age, health, financial position, etc.

CEO and co-founder Peter Colis said, "Even before the pandemic, the reality we were dealing with is that one in twenty children will lose a parent before they turn 15, and if it's a breadwinning parent, most of those families will go bankrupt within three months. Ethos' proprietary underwriting engine is a constantly improving data cycle for precision matching of people to policies. These improvements have enabled this latest policy expansion, one of many moves we're making to match more families with the best possible policy to suit their needs."

According to a recent study by industry research firm LIMRA and non-profit Life Happens, just 58% of men and 47% of women in the U.S. have life insurance, and despite a spike in sales during the pandemic, there are 102 million uninsured and underinsured Americans who believe they need to buy or increase their life insurance, representing 40% of the adult population. Ethos uses innovative machine learning and data science technologies to increase the addressable market for life insurance. Its technology advantage breaks down barriers that prevent customers from purchasing life insurance, including underwriting in minutes with no medical exams, blood tests or complex paperwork.

The company's goal is to create access to life insurance for a broader demographic of U.S. families, including more women and more low- and middle-income families, and it's making good progress: over 40% of new policy holders in the first half of 2021 had incomes of $60,000 or less. Almost 40% of new policy holders were under the age of 40. Since January 1, 2021, the top five occupations held by new policy owners were homemaker, insurance agent, business owner, teacher, and registered nurse.

The policy coverage expansion closely follows a $100 million round from Softbank Vision Fund 2 that brought Ethos's valuation to $2.7 billion and total funds raised to over $400 million. SoftBank joined an all-star cast of investors including Sequoia Capital; Accel; GV (formerly Google Ventures); General Catalyst; Jay-Z's Roc Nation; and the investment vehicles of stars Will Smith and Robert Downey Jr.

Ethos has been growing at a significant rate and increasing its year-over-year momentum. Revenue and users have each grown by more than 600 percent year-over-year, and the company expects to issue $20 billion of life insurance coverage in 2021. In addition to its revenue and user growth, the company has surpassed $100M in annualized gross profit.

About Ethos
Ethos is a new kind of life insurance provider that makes getting coverage easy and accessible for millions of families. Ethos uses deep technology and data science to eliminate traditional barriers to life insurance and bring the industry into the modern age. The company built its technology from the ground up with a focus on creating a seamless customer experience; a mobile-first, online application process that takes minutes instead of weeks; and offering coverage without a medical exam for over 99% of applicants and a few health questions. The result is a life insurance company that puts people first. The company has offices in San Francisco, Austin, and Singapore. To learn more, visit www.ethoslife.com.

SOURCE Ethos