Premium financing startup Ascend raises $30 million

Palo Alto-based Ascend closed a $30 million Series A funding round led by Index Ventures, bringing its total funding to $39 million. It also announced a $250 million lending commitment to finance insurance premium loans through its platform facilitated by Hudson Structured Capital Management.

Founded in 2021, Ascend offers payments APIs and no code products to automate insurance payments from an online point of sale with buy now, pay later financing to the distribution of commissions and carrier payables. This enables insurance brokers, MGAs, and carriers to sell more policies by eliminating labor-intensive, expensive processes while providing customers with the great online checkout and financing experience they’ve come to expect.

Clients include Vouch, Cowbell, Newfront, Boost Insurance, NFP, LuckyTruck, Rogue Risk, Portal Insurance, and Riskwell.