Sidecar Health Raises $120M to Add More Insurance Offerings
Francesca Billington is a freelance reporter. Prior to that, she was a general assignment reporter for dot.LA and has also reported for KCRW, the Santa Monica Daily Press and local publications in New Jersey. She graduated from Princeton in 2019 with a degree in anthropology.
Insurance tech company Sidecar Health raised $120 million in a Series C funding round led by Drive Capital. The latest infusion of funds bumped its valuation up to $1 billion.
The insurance plans let customers see any doctor they wish and pay upfront for services using a Sidecar Health Visa card. A spokesperson for the company told dot.LA in August that Sidecar Health's customers include families, small business and people over 40 — even though the startup initially set out to target millennials.
Since its founding in 2018, the El Segundo-based company has raised more than $175 million. The service is offered in 16 states, not including California.
Unlike traditional insurance that covers a range of services and then offers a deductible, Sidecar Health offers indemnity insurance, which is cheaper but can wind up costing more if unexpected care is needed. Plus, it's not regulated in the same way that other health insurance plans are.
Customers are free to compare and shop around for services on the platform, a model that CEO and co-founder Patrick Quigley hopes will "make healthcare more affordable and accessible for all Americans," he said in a statement announcing the raise on Tuesday.
"When we think about the pandemic, it's an opportunity for us, as a company that takes our mission very seriously, to help a ton of people right now," Quigley said in an interview following the July raise.
The company says members will save around 40% compared to traditional insurance plans.
"The extraordinary level of transparency Sidecar Health brings to the marketplace has the potential to fundamentally change how millions of Americans shop for healthcare," said Molly Bonakdarpour, Partner at Drive Capital, in a statement. "We think Sidecar Health's team of consumer, technology and healthcare veterans is well positioned to capitalize on the large healthcare insurtech opportunity."
The company said it will use the funding to hire and invest in new insurance products, including an ACA or "Obamacare" offering for 2022 and later, a product for the self-funded employer market.
The round was joined by new investors BOND, Tiger Global and Menlo Ventures along with existing investors Cathay Innovation and GreatPoint Ventures.
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Francesca Billington is a freelance reporter. Prior to that, she was a general assignment reporter for dot.LA and has also reported for KCRW, the Santa Monica Daily Press and local publications in New Jersey. She graduated from Princeton in 2019 with a degree in anthropology.
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