About Descartes Underwriting — Descartes
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About Descartes Underwriting

Founded by a team of insurance veterans and climate scientists, Descartes Underwriting operates at a global scale, offering data-driven parametric insurance against climate risk. The challenge of climate change calls for a revolutionary approach to insurance. At Descartes, we are fully dedicated to creating a new generation of parametric solutions: fully transparent, customized to the client’s needs and providing swift claims payment. Descartes’ innovative edge stems from our ability to integrate new data sources, including IoT, satellite imagery, stationary sensors, radar and third party data, and apply proprietary algorithms to unlock risk insights.
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About Descartes Underwriting
About Descartes Underwriting

Our Founding Story

Descartes Underwriting was born of the conviction that new technologies can deeply transform the insurance industry, reducing friction and restoring trust in the market. We saw a gap between the traditional insurance approach and the risk exposure needs of corporations and governments against extreme weather and climate change. Our parametric approach is built from objective data which drives transparency, from quote to quick payout if a risk event occurs. We address the full spectrum of climate risks, at a more affordable premium. 

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Descartes evolution

2019

USD 2.5M raised in Seed funding

~10 FTEs

1 office

50+ clients o/w Fortune 500 companies

10+ countries covered

2020

USD 19M raised in Series A

~20 FTEs

3 offices

100+ clients o/w Fortune 500 companies

30+ countries covered

2021

~50 FTEs

6 offices in 5 countries

150+ clients o/w Fortune 500 companies

40+ countries covered

2022

USD 120M raised in Series B

9 offices in 6 countries

250+ clients o/w Fortune 500 companies

50+ countries covered

Our global offices

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Paris

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New York

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Denver

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Atlanta

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Singapore

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Sydney

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London

(licensing in progress)

Climate risks covered & key figures

Descartes is proud to be the largest parametric specialized firm globally. We offer parametric coverage for all natural catastrophic perils, across all trade sectors, & all geographies. Structured as a Managing General Agent, we write on A-rated paper supported by best-in-class (re)insurers.

200+
corporate & public sector clients
500+
partner brokers & account managers around the world
60+
countries covered
$200M
in available capacity per contract

Discover our products

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Transparent and affordable nat cat insurance against: cyclone, flood, earthquake, hail, wildfire & bushfire, tsunami, hurricane, and more.
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Parametric insurance policies customized for exposure against: yield, drought, excess rain, frost, crop production, hail, forestry storm damage, wildfire, smoke taint, and more
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Flexible solutions for renewables including lack or excess of rainfall, wind, or solar radiation; as well as conventional sources, including energy demand fluctuations due to mild winter, and more
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Parametric insurance that also covers: supply chain or non-damage business interruption, adverse weather construction delays, low or high river level transportation impacts, heatwave, & more

Our Global Client Base

Founded by veteran insurers and data scientists, we offer our parametric insurance solutions at a global scale. 

We underwrite and innovate against all natural catastrophic perils, across all trade sectors, in over 60 countries around the world. Our policies are written on A-rated securities and we partner with best-in-class (re)insurers. Thanks to our valuable partnerships, we have the ability to deploy up to $200M in capacity per contract. 

As we collaborate with more brokers to help them bring the value proposition of parametrics to their client base, our in-force portfolio is rapidly expanding. More than 150 corporate and public sector clients have already chosen Descartes to protect themselves against climate risks, many of whom are Fortune 500. Consider joining them for a smarter insurance program and more resilient future.

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Industry Recognitions

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2018 FinTech for Tomorrow Award (Finance for Tomorrow)

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InsurTech of the Year 2019 (Finance Innovation)

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Trophées de l’Assurance Product Innovation 2020

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‘2020 Pitch Your Start-up Award’

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Interested in learning more?

Get in touch with our business development team today

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