Health IQ Secures $34.6 Million In Series C Funding Led By Andreessen Horowitz

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., Nov. 15, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- Health IQ Insurance Services (Health IQ), the fastest-growing life insurance company for health conscious individuals, today announced that it has secured $34.6 million in Series C funding, led by Andreessen Horowitz and has helped clients to enforce $5.3 billion of coverage in just 22 months. To date, the company has raised a total of $81 million mostly from its existing investors: Charles River Ventures, Ribbit Capital, Foundation Capital, First Round Capital, Felicis Ventures and Western Technology Investments.

Health IQ is making life insurance fair by unlocking the value of health consciousness for the 50 million Americans who take responsibility for their health. Health IQ is doing this by delivering better rates and better underwriting for these health conscious individuals. These not only include runners, cyclists, swimmers and vegans, but also people who have a chronic disease but manage it well such as diabetes. While Health IQ works with over 30 carriers to get the best market rate, it has closely partnered with innovative life insurance carriers SBLI, Ameritas and Assurity, and reinsurer partner Swiss Re, to get lower rates for health conscious people. 

"We believe the best way to change the world's health is to celebrate the health conscious rather than harass the people who aren't," said Munjal Shah, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Health IQ.  "We are doing that celebration today with lower rates and better underwriting in life insurance.  We believe that these incentives will inspire others to take responsibility and transform their health."

The company offers products issued by SBLI, Ameritas and Assurity lower life insurance rates that can save between 4 and 33 percent for health conscious individuals. In addition, Health IQ has worked with carriers to develop better underwriting that takes into account unique factors related to the health conscious. For example, Body Mass Index (BMI) doesn't differentiate between muscle and fat, and frequently results in weight lifters and athletic individuals being overcharged. Health IQ makes sure that they are not penalized for their muscularity. Also, in many cases, clients became health conscious because someone in the family had a health scare.  Health IQ helps to ensure their other positive lifestyle choices offset the negatives from their family history. Because of these underwriting changes and many others, 70 percent of all health conscious clients who apply for life insurance with Health IQ obtain the best underwriting class possible, Preferred Plus, and hence save money.

Health IQ spent years gathering the science and big data to prove that the health conscious deserve lower rates. The data included detailed review of evidence based, peer reviewed medical and epidemiological research that showed, for example, that persistent runners have a 50 percent lower risk of cardiovascular mortality¹, vegetarians have a 22 percent lower risk of colorectal cancer incidence², and higher muscular strength is associated with a 30 percent lower risk of cancer mortality.³ The company combined this medical research with its own proprietary research gleaned from the over 1 million people who took the Health IQ test, which the company launched over three years ago. This research showed that health conscious individuals have a 41 percent lower mortality rate.

"Much of the insurance industry today is based on outmoded, mass-packaged research with a one-size-fits-most mindset, which results in overpayment from consumers and improper risk assessment for carriers," said Alex Rampell, General Partner, Andreessen Horowitz. "Health IQ takes a modern, data-driven approach to insurance which gives carriers more accurate assessments and offers fair, low rates to consumers."

Health IQ plans to use the funding to fuel hiring in its Mountain View and San Diego offices, continue product development and accelerate customer growth.

For more information, please visit www.healthiq.com.

About Health IQ
Health IQ's mission is to improve the health of the world by celebrating the health conscious through financial rewards. Health IQ delivers better rates and underwriting, and partners with top-rated insurance carriers such as SBLI, Ameritas Life Insurance Corp. and Assurity Life Insurance Company, and reinsurer partner Swiss Re to offer health conscious people between 4 and 33 percent lower rates on life insurance. Founded in 2013 by a team of health conscious entrepreneurs, the company is a licensed life insurance company in all 50 states and has helped tens of thousands of individuals secure a total of $5.3 billion in insurance coverage.

For more information, please visit www.healthiq.com and follow Health IQ on Twitter @healthiqinsure.

Media Contact:
Jill FoxJCUTLER media group
jillian@jcmg.com

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1} Lee et al., J Am Coll Cardiol. (2014)

² Orlich et al. JAMA Intern Med (2015)

³ Ruiz et al. Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev (2009)

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SOURCE Health IQ