Avi Ben-Hutta
Editor at Coverager
Extend

Extend raises $16.4 million

Extend , the startup enabling merchants to offer warranties and protection plans, announced that it has purchased several agreements and assets related to administration of warranty programs in the US from Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., an affiliate of Aon plc. As part of the transaction, Pedro Rodriguez, a 25-year industry veteran and former SVP at Aon Warranty Solutions, will join Extend’s senior management team as Senior Vice President of Insurance and Strategy.

Extend is also announcing that it has secured $16.4 million in financing led by GreatPoint Ventures. Venture firms Pritzker Group Venture Capital, Lightbank, and Shah Capital Partners also participated in the round along with private investors Rick Smith (ex-CEO Equifax), Michael Marks (ex-CEO Flextronics and CEO Katerra), Jason Robins (CEO DraftKings), and Erik Torenberg (Village Global). Extend will use the funding to scale operations on pace with its rapidly expanding list of clients. Merchants that are currently using and signed up to utilize Extend as their exclusive extended warranty provider collectively have annual gross sales of over $11.5 Billion. These companies include a national auto parts retailer, SoClean, August Locks, 1More, Cub Cadet, Wynd, Zebit, Coinmine, Polycade, RealTruck, DS18, Outcast Garage, New Air, and others.

“Before Extend, extended warranties were only accessible to the top 1% of merchants and often had a negative reputation with consumers, which left a huge portion of the market unable or unwilling to offer protection plans. Extend’s rapid growth is a testament to the increasing demand for an extended warranty solution that all merchants can use and customers can trust.” – Woodrow Levin, Founder and CEO of Extend

“Combining the technology engine of Extend with these assets and program design expertise allows us to bring together Extend’s best of breed front end technology with robust underwriting and administration capabilities. The ability to offer speed to market and ease of integration to e-commerce and brick and mortar merchants is what sets us apart from legacy providers, and is core to our growth strategy.” – Pedro Rodriquez, Extend’s SVP of Insurance & Strategy.

“The acquisition from Affinity Insurance Services, Inc., an affiliate of Aon plc clearly sets up Extend to be a dominant player in extended warranties, especially in a rapidly growing environment of online sales. We’ve been amazed with how fast Extend has grown. It’s a testament to the strength of the company’s leadership and technology. This is an industry that has been yearning for innovation and protection plans that customers can trust. It’s about time that every manufacturer can now provide the Apple Care type experience that they know customers want.” – Andrew Perlman, Managing Partner at GreatPoint Ventures.

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