Beam raises $80m to disrupt dental insurance

Beam raises $80m

You know when the dentist puts 15 tools in your mouth, and you drool a little? That’s probably how investors looked when they saw Beam’s financials.

Beam raises $80m to disrupt dental insurance

This week, the Columbus, Ohio-based insurtech startup announced an $80m Series E led by Mercato Partners and joined by Nationwide.

Beam will likely use the capital for product development and growth

The company, founded in 2012, is taking on the $83.6B dental insurance market with a good ol’ software-hardware combo move:

  • Software: Beam’s IP mimics the best dental insurance underwriters, but works faster and at scale, enabling low rates even for small companies.
  • Hardware: Members are incentivized to use Beam’s connected toothbrush to earn lower rates. To date, the program has recorded 100m+ brushing minutes.

The setup runs like a flywheel: Beam reduces claims by incentivizing preventive care, uses the connected data to improve underwriting models, then lowers costs.

The economics seem to work, too

Beam reportedly has gangster loss ratios, spending less than $0.70 for each dollar it gets from claim premiums.

The company grew revenue 600% over the last 3 years and boasts a net revenue retention rate of 100%.

Beam’s network reaches 400k dentists in all 50 states, and the company doubled its member base in both 2019 and 2020.

One question we have for the Beam team: Do you dance the floss to celebrate occasions such as this?

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