The digital health insurer Ottonova has successfully completed another financing round. In addition to the existing investors Holtzbrinck Ventures Tengelmann Ventures, b-to-v, and STS Ventures have now invested in the startup, along with Vorwerk Ventures. The total financing amount is said to be around €15 million, although exact figures have not been disclosed publicly.
The Munich startup Ottonova Ottonova was founded in 2015 with the aim of tackling the private, more traditional health insurance market with an innovative approach: as a purely digital provider offering both private comprehensive health insurance (PKV) and supplementary insurance. The startup plans to launch its offering online next June. This would make Ottonova the first German digital health insurer.
Founder Roman Rittweger knows the insurance business well: In the 1990s, he founded ArztPartner Almeda, a company specializing in telemedical healthcare services, which has existed as a subsidiary of Munich Re's DKV subsidiary since 2001. He also developed treatment programs for chronically ill patients for statutory health insurance companies.
Ottonova promises no premium increase in the coming years due to low interest rates
But even if the second financing round has been successfully completed, Ottonova will likely need additional capital. Like any private health insurer, the Munich-based startup needs to build up aging reserves for its customers. The problem: Interest rates are currently very low, so a large portion of the premium goes towards these reserves. Roman Rittweger says to the Süddeutsche Zeitung:
"We will offset this with lower costs. Furthermore, you won't see any premium increases due to low interest rates in the coming years."
