Coterie raises $8.5 million to build "commercial insurance as a service"

Ohio-based Coterie, a startup working on in the commercial insurance space, has announced today it has raised $8.5 million Series A. The company had previously raised a little over $3 million in early investments, bringing its equity capital raised to nearly $12 million to date; the firm also told TechCrunch that it has raised $2.5 million in available venture debt as part of its current round.In an uncertain market, Coterie  is better capitalized than it ever has been, thanks to Intercept, and The Hartford, and RPM Ventures , which led its latest round.

Coterie  operates in insurtech, a space we’ve covered extensively in recent months. But it’s not MetroMile or Lemonade, both of which selling consumer insurance. Nor is it akin to The Zebra, Policygenius, Gabi, or Insurify, helping consumers link to third-party insurance products. It’s closest private market comp, looking at our recent coverage, is Briza, which produces APIs linking small businesses to small business insurance products.

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Industry, Montreal Airport In Year-Long Drone Security Trial

A year-long trial to monitor for drone activity to gather data, increase situational awareness and improve response actions is underway at a major international airport in Montreal and includes the airport authority and several companies.

“The safety of facilities and the traveling public is an ongoing priority of all the stakeholders at YUL and, in the coming months, we will be exploring various ways to facilitate the proactive management of threats that we may eventually be faced with,” Stephane Lapierre, vice president, Airport Operations and Air Services Development at ADM Aeroports de Montreal, said in a statement last week. ADM is the authority that oversees YUL Montreal-Trudeau International Airport.

Airports are faced with myriad drone-related concerns including not being able to verify visual sightings, operational disruptions, status of ongoing drone activity, whether the activity is a threat to operations, and limited response capabilities, Luke Fox, the founder and CEO of WhiteFox, said in a Jan. 10 n interview with Defense Daily.

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Seattle startup Mystery creates ‘Night In’ boxes for those who still want to date and support businesses

Mystery has built a business around getting people out. The coronavirus is doing its best to keep us all in.

Now the Seattle startup, which normally helps facilitate a surprise night on the town for couples, is offering a new feature, called “Night In,” to cater to people stuck at home while also helping businesses hurt by the outbreak in Seattle.

It’s the Mystery date for our social-distancing times.

A traditional Mystery excursion is built around an activity, dinner, drinks, dessert and transportation for people who set preferences and communicate with the company through its app. The startup launched last September, has raised $1.3 million and plans and executes hundreds of mysteries per month at varying price points with a wide range of partners.

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US employers supporting workers with free access to pay through DailyPay

Hundreds of employers, including United Methodist Retirement Communities, are leveraging the on-demand pay leader to empower employees during the pandemic.

With top employers taking drastic actions in response to COVID-19, DailyPay, the leading provider of the daily pay benefit, announced it is waiving fees for access to earned income, effective this week. DailyPay has coordinated this multi-million dollar effort for all employees of companies who offer DailyPay; the waived fees will be in effect until further notice.As the risk of quarantine grows throughout the U.S., consumers are lining up at grocery stores and retailers to buy products in bulk. In fact, 63 percent of users said they would use DailyPay for medical emergencies. Now, 43 percent of employees using DailyPay are accessing their pay early for COVID-19-related expenses — a number that spiked 400 percent between March 14 and March 17. With 1 in 7 employees now accessing their earned income early to prepare for the potential impacts of the coronavirus, the reality is that many Americans may lack the funds to adequately prepare for this pandemic. Thanks to partnerships with top employers, DailyPay users can now access their earned pay at zero cost without having to wait for the company-defined payday.

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43% of Employees Are Getting Paid Early With Access to DailyPay

Employers are supporting the employees amid the outbreak of COVID-19 outbreak with free access to DailyPay

With employers taking drastic actions in response to COVID-19, DailyPay, the provider of the daily pay benefit, announced it is waiving fees for access to earned income, effective this week. DailyPay has coordinated this multi-million dollar effort for all employees of companies who offer DailyPay; the waived fees will be in effect until further notice.

As the risk of quarantine grows throughout the U.S., consumers are lining up at grocery stores and retailers to buy products in bulk. In fact, 63% of users said they would use DailyPay for medical emergencies. Now, 43% of employees using DailyPay are accessing their pay early for COVID-19-related expenses — a number that spiked 400% between March 14 and March 17. With 1 in 7 employees now accessing their earned income early to prepare for the potential impacts of the coronavirus, the reality is that many Americans may lack the funds to adequately prepare for this pandemic. Thanks to partnerships with top employers, DailyPay users can now access their earned pay at zero cost without having to wait for the company-defined payday.

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