Weatherbill
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It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with The Climate Corporation. (Discuss) Proposed since January 2012. |
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| Type | Private start-up |
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| Industry | Financial services |
| Founded | 2006 |
| Headquarters | San Francisco, California, USA |
| Key people | David Friedberg, CEO & Founder; Siraj Khaliq, CTO & Founder; Gregory Smirin, CRO; Kevin Vosen, CAO; Sarah Mears Kim, VP Finance; Tjarko Leifer, VP New Markets |
| Website | www.weatherbill.com |
WeatherBill is an online service, launched in January 2007, that helps people and businesses adapt to climate change. The company’s technology platform enables the real-time pricing and purchasing of customizable weather insurance using proprietary global weather simulation modeling and local WeatherBill monitoring systems.
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[edit] Investors and underwriters
On February 28, 2011, WeatherBill announced a $42 million Series B funding with new investors Khosla Ventures and Google Ventures joining NEA, Index Ventures, Allen & Company, First Round Capital, Atomico, and Code Advisors in the financing round. The capital will support WeatherBill’s product and sales expansion in the U.S. and internationally.
Investors in the company's $4.3 million seed funding round include Index Ventures, a European Venture Capital firm, New Enterprise Associates, Atomico Investments, a private equity fund managed by Niklas Zennstrom, Sean Park, who runs blog site parkparadigm.com, Joshua Schachter, and First Round Capital. On October 17, 2007 the company closed a $12.5 million Series A round, with venture funding from New Enterprise Associates, Index Ventures, Allen & Company, Atomico Investments, and Sean Park.[1]
Nephila Capital, a Bermuda-based investment manager, reinsurance company, and hedge fund, underwrites the risk of weather-based payouts.[1]
[edit] Products
The company’s technology platform enables the real-time pricing and purchasing of customizable weather insurance using proprietary global weather simulation modeling and local weather monitoring systems.
WeatherBill protects the $3 trillion global agriculture industry from the financial impact of adverse weather – the cause of over 90% of crop loss – with fully automated weather insurance products. Unlike traditional insurance, WeatherBill’s products pay out automatically based solely on measured weather conditions, requiring no claims process and no waiting for payment.
WeatherBill’s technology platform also powers raincheck.com, an automated weather insurance program for travelers worldwide.
According to the company's website, all WeatherBill insurance policies are "fully admitted" nationwide and carry an A.M. Best "A" rating.
[edit] Website Features
weatherbill.com serves as both the company's corporate website and also a front-end interface by which customers may obtain quotes for and purchase policies. WeatherBill also offers various free software tools from its website that companies may use to assess and manage their weather risks.
[edit] References
- ^ a b Ken Schachter (October 17, 2007). "$12.5M Rains on Weather Risk Startup". Red Herring. http://www.redherring.com/Home/22992. Retrieved 2007-10-18.
[edit] Further reading
- "Weatherbill arrange holiday refund weather cover for Priceline.com", Artemis.bm, June 2, 2008
- "Weather-Related Flight Delays Can Be Predicted", Aviation.com, April 25, 2008
- "WeatherBill Expands Team with Addition of Leading Weather Insurance Veteran", Reuters, February 7, 2008
- "WeatherBill Publishes Study Identifying the Impact of Weather on Film Box Office Revenue", Reuters, Dec 27, 2007
- "Study Examines Climate Change in Major US cities", IndustryWeek, September 17, 2007
- "Startup offers financial hedge against weather", San Francisco Chronicle, June 6, 2007
- "Weatherbill Expands to Small Towns", The Energy Daily, May 24, 2007
- "Study Examines Rain Patterns in US", PRNewsWire, May 17, 2007
- "Study Examines Impact of Climate Change on US Golf Industry", World Golf, March 30, 2007
