Since its inception, Safely has secured approximately $16 million in funding, along with an additional $4.5 million in venture debt. Notably, the company has successfully provided insurance coverage for over four million nights.
Established in 2013, Safely specialises in offering insurance and safety tools tailored for vacation rental homeowners and property managers. Their insurance policies extend coverage for personal injury and damages to both property contents and structures. In addition to insurance services, the company conducts thorough guest screening by cross-referencing government records, criminal databases, and other watchlists.
Safely’s comprehensive solutions are seamlessly integrated with over 30 property management systems. This automation facilitates the efficient blending of insurance services and screening processes, streamlining operations for vacation rental stakeholders.
The recent $8 million funding injection positions Safely to further enhance its offerings and contribute to the evolving landscape of insurance and safety within the vacation rental industry.
Speaking about the funding raise, Andrew Bate, founder and CEO at Safely, said: “Our mission at Safely is to protect homeowners when they rent their homes on Airbnb, Vrbo, and Booking.com because they can only make money if they let internet strangers sleep in their beds and use their stuff.”
He continued: “We built our insure-tech infrastructure before COVID and were able to take advantage of rapid growth in the short-term home rental markets. We spent much of this year building our own insurance platform as a Lloyd’s of London Coverholder, which gives us access to 80-plus countries and some amazing underwriters. And we process all of our claims in-house and now pay 90% of claims in three business days.”
Bate said Safely is chiefly focused scaling its operations, including expansion in Europe.
“Safely is a category-defining company that provides a vital solution to vacation rental homeowners and operators,” said Raja Goel, principal at Highgate Technology Ventures.
He added: “Their long history serving a broad spectrum of clients speaks volumes about their ability to help their partners run more efficiently and profitably. With only 1% of market share in the U.S., Safely is uniquely positioned to expand globally, and we are excited to partner with the team to support their next phase of growth.”
