Guest blog from Ambra Zhang, Co-Founder and CEO of Juniper
TL;DR:
- Juniper has raised £1.5M for the first ‘Insurance for Genitals’, which offers comprehensive reproductive healthcare insurance for employees.
- Unlike traditional insurance policies, Juniper provides coverage for a range of otherwise uncovered conditions, such as PCOS, menopause, egg freezing, erectile dysfunction and gender dysphoria – making it the sole insurance provider to address these concerns.
- The investment will fuel Juniper’s growth by facilitating product development and team expansion and supporting its pilot phase with customers before its official launch.
Like dental insurance for your genitals
In the UK, one in three women suffer from reproductive or gynaecological issues1, while one in four men experience low testosterone by age 302. However, most insurance companies exclude coverage for such chronic or pre-existing illnesses, placing the burden of treatment costs on the individual – unless they have access to cash employer benefits.
Fertility issues and menopause are often not covered by employee health insurance.
In some instances, employers offer to cover the cost of egg-freezing or fertility treatments, such as IVF, which can cost the business £15-45K.
At Juniper, we’re addressing a gap in the health insurance market by providing comprehensive genital insurance for all genders, ensuring easy access for companies and their employees.
We’ve successfully closed our pre-seed round led by Insurtech Gateway, enabling us to scale our team and launch a pilot later this year.
JUNIPER’S FOUNDING STORY
I was diagnosed with polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS) early on, and my corporate health insurance didn’t cover it, as PCOS was classified as a chronic reproductive condition.
So, every year, I would pay £1,000 out of pocket to see my gynaecologist get my prescription.
I founded Juniper to bridge this gap by providing end-to-end reproductive health support for employees and tailored, high-quality insurance products for employers and brokers. Our digital platform aims to revolutionise the insurance industry by meeting the unmet needs of the new generation.
WHAT’S NEXT?
Juniper will provide everyone with an out-of-the-box reproductive health cover, providing employees access to testing and prevention education, community support, medical reimbursement and care navigation. We’ll be available to medium to large enterprise businesses looking to support their employees’ well-being, benefit from hassle-free admin, and pursue new avenues for ESG initiatives.
Juniper will offer coverage for various conditions and tests, encompassing contraception, STD testing, endometriosis, erectile dysfunction, and reproductive organ cancer. We’ll also cover gender dysphoria, egg freezing, and menopause.
Unlike traditional health insurers prioritising low-frequency, high-value claims rarely used, we concentrate on high-frequency claims with moderate costs, addressing an overlooked niche.
We’re working with excellent investors, led by Insurtech Gateway alongside 2100 Ventures, Exceptional Ventures, and heartfelt and leading European angel investors. Our pre-seed investment will triple our team, drive growth and support our pilot phase leading to an official launch.
THE PEOPLE BEHIND JUNIPER
We have a fantastic team in place to lead Juniper. I’m joined by my co-founder and CPTO Sam Pratt, an experienced Software Engineer and Manager bringing over a decade of expertise where he has led teams and departments from strength to strength. He previously headed up Engineering Innovation within Brit Insurance, the second largest commercial insurer at Lloyd’s of London. Before this, he was the Head of Engineering at Gaia, the first direct-to-consumer IVF insurance-financing startup.
As CEO of Juniper, I draw from my experience in investment banking and private equity at Goldman Sachs and my firsthand encounters with the constraints of corporate health insurance. We are also joined by Max Bacon, our Head of Operations, who previously was Regional Lead for DrDoctor.
We also have an incredibly talented and knowledgeable advisory board, including John Hodgson, the former Executive Director at Aviva Life & Pension; Marco Ramadoro, Founder of Satec MGA; Guillaume d’Audiffret, Founder of Seyna; Ruth Polyblank, Vice President, Insurance, Strategic Growth for Mastercard; and Benjamin Viaris de Lesegno, Doctor, Entrepreneur, and Co-founder of Leva Clinic and Cellen.
A note from Insurtech Gateway
“Thank you so much for sharing your story Ambra, we are proud to be supporting a venture with so much potential to impact peoples health and wellbeing. At Insurtech Gateway we are always eager to meet mission driven founders – like Ambra. If you are an early stage founder with a big idea, we have the experience and the tools to help you launch and scale faster. Check out our incubator and venture fund or get in touch.”