Beam Dental Raises $22.5M Series C Led by Kleiner Perkins to Reimagine Dental Insurance for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
Beam Dental, a next generation provider of dental insurance for small and medium-sized businesses, today announced it has raised $22.5 million in Series C funding led by Kleiner Perkins. The company will use the funds to expand its data-driven technology platform nationwide from the 16 states in which it currently operates. Kleiner Perkins’ Lucas Swisher will join Beam’s board of directors.
Founded by Alex Frommeyer, Alex Curry, and Dan Dykes in 2012, Beam is transforming the $78 billion dental insurance market by providing a better service experience for the entire benefits ecosystem: brokers, businesses, and members. Beam has rebuilt the dental insurance model with a customer-first focus. It eliminates headaches for brokers and businesses alike when onboarding customers and managing claims, and provides unique dental care perks in the form of a reoccurring subscription service that includes an electric toothbrush, paste, floss, and replacement heads, delivered directly to the member’s door.
“There has been little innovation in dental insurance in many years, resulting in a commoditized market,” said Alex Frommeyer, CEO, Beam Dental. “We’re excited to partner with Kleiner Perkins to change the expectations of SMBs all over the country when it comes to accessing affordable dental care with best in class service and support.”
Beam’s platform enables it to consume and segment a business’ data to assess underwriting risk and price premiums better than its competitors. The company has automated critical pieces of policy administration — from enrollments to claims processing — to improve the speed and efficiency of its customer service.
Additionally, Beam has reinvented the product experience to differentiate itself by including unique perks for members to better connect with their dental plans. With the Beam Brush, a sonic-powered connected toothbrush made available to all members as part of its ‘Perks’ subscription, the company helps lower premiums at renewal. Beam has also expanded its offerings in response to customer demand. The company recently announced a partnership with VSP VisionCare to offer high-quality vision plans as a bundle with its core dental product line.
“Beam’s customer-centric focus at all stages of the value chain – from broker to business to member – is what initially attracted us to the business. They’ve also optimized their cost structure in a unique way using software to automate key parts of the administrative stack. This combination is powerful, enabling Beam to find the right customers and offer them a better experience, often at a lower price,” said Lucas Swisher, Kleiner Perkins.
About Beam Dental
Beam Dental is a dental and ancillary benefits company that offers employers a fundamentally unique approach to coverage by incorporating dental hygiene behavior into policy pricing. All of Beam’s plans also include Perks, a subscription service with an electric toothbrush, replacements heads, toothpaste, and floss. Beam delivers best in class support and service to all members, making easy to find and access dental services with the tap of a finger from a broad, nationwide network of dentists.
Learn more about how the company is reimagining dental care at www.beam.dental.
Insurance products underwritten by National Guardian Life Insurance Company† (NGL), marketed by Beam Insurance services LLC, and administered by Beam Insurance Administrators LLC. Beam® perks provided by Beam Perks LLC. Beam Perks® can be obtained separately without the purchase of an insurance product by visiting perks.beam.dental. Dental policy form series numbers NDNGRP 04/06 or NDNGRP 2010. Vision policy form series numbers NVIGRP 5/07 or NVIGRP 11/13. Not all Products Available in All States.
†National Guardian Life Insurance Company is not affiliated with The Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, a.k.a. The Guardian, or Guardian Life.
About Kleiner Perkins
Kleiner Perkins partners with the brightest entrepreneurs to turn disruptive ideas into world-changing businesses. With $10 billion raised through 20 venture funds and four growth funds, the firm has invested in over 850 companies including pioneers such as Google, App Dynamics, Amazon, Flexus Biosciences, Nest, Waze, Twitter, JD.com and Square. Kleiner Perkins offers entrepreneurs years of operating experience, puts them at the center of an influential network, and accelerates their companies from success to significance. For more information, visit http://www.kpcb.com and follow us @kpcb.