Direct Line Group to acquire Brolly

UK’s auto and home insurer Direct Line Group announced that an agreement has been reached to acquire London-based contents insurance intermediary Brolly . The transaction is conditional and is expected to close during the third quarter of 2020. The terms of the acquisition have not been disclosed.

“Brolly was founded with a clear vision: ‘make insurance simple’. We’ve been on an incredible journey with our team, our product and our customers. Since launching 4 years ago, we’ve grown from an ambitious idea to a fully functioning product backed by some of the world’s best investors and the UK’s largest insurers. Now, we’ve finalised a deal that will see us join forces and become part of Direct Line Group, the UK’s original insurance innovator.  This combination – taking the technological edge of Brolly and integrating it with the insurance prowess of Direct Line Group – will allow us to accelerate the arrival of the next generation of insurance products. Direct Line Group are committed to leading the digital transformation of insurance and the Brolly team are proud and excited to be joining at such a pivotal moment in this journey.’ Brolly.

Founded in 2016 Brolly never showed many signs of activity or traction.

2016. Founded by Phoebe Hugh (founder, CEO) and Mykhailo Loginov (co-founder, CTO).

2017. Rebranded due to a logo dispute with Travelers and raised $1.3 million from Entrepreneur First, Valar Ventures, Apeiron Investment Group, and Pi Labs.

2018. Co-founder and CTO Mykhailo Loginov moves on.

2019. Launched Brolly Contents.

The team behind Brolly is expected to join Direct Line Group “to build on their work to date with the aim of helping the Group to accelerate its transformation to becoming a leading digital player in insurance, by offering products that are personalised, easy to use and available everywhere.”

Here’s a look at the current team, according to LinkedIn:

Team # Role Joined
1 Founder 2016
2 Head of Engineering 2019
3 Head of Operations 2018
4 Back End Project Manager and Developer 2017