The most interesting thing about commercial insurance is not the risk. It is the paperwork. In Germany, a market worth nearly €30 billion in annual premiums, that paperwork flows through a dense network of brokers, agents, and direct sales teams [ZoomInfo.com]. For nearly a decade, Thinksurance has been quietly building the digital plumbing for that entire system, one workflow at a time.
Founded in 2015, the Frankfurt-based company sells omni-channel software that maps the sales process from initial needs analysis to final policy issuance [Osborne Clarke, June 2023]. It is a bet on digitizing complexity, not simplifying it for consumers. The platform, which includes products branded as Advisory Suite® and Consult Direct®, aims to be the operating system for selling business insurance [LinkedIn, June 2023].
The Wedge: Workflow, Not Comparison
Thinksurance did not start as another price-comparison website. Its predecessor, Gewerbeversicherung24, was itself a digital broker [Thinksurance.us]. That origin story gave the founders an intimate, ground-level view of the industry's friction points. The pivot to a B2B software platform was a logical next step: build the tools they needed, then sell them to everyone else.
The product wedge is workflow integration. For an insurance carrier like Allianz or AXA, the platform can standardize sales processes across tied agents, independent brokers, and direct channels [Insurtech Insights]. For a broker, it consolidates quoting, risk analysis, and documentation from multiple insurers into a single interface [Tracxn]. The company reported in 2023 that its software is used by more than 50,000 intermediaries who have consulted over 1.5 million customers [EU-Startups, June 2023].
Funding a Decade of Patience
Building trust and integration depth in the conservative insurance industry does not happen overnight. Thinksurance's funding history reflects a long-term build, with rounds spaced years apart to fuel gradual expansion.
| Date | Round | Amount | Lead Investor(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| October 2019 | Series B | €13 million | Eight Roads Ventures [International Travel & Health Insurance Journal, October 2019] |
| June 2023 | Series C | €22 million | Viewpoint Ventures, M-Tech Capital, Segenia Capital [Osborne Clarke, June 2023] |
The 2023 round, which also saw participation from existing backers Eight Roads and Columbia Lake Partners, was earmarked for fueling a "new wave of digitalisation" in commercial insurance [EU-Startups, June 2023]. The capital appears to have supported both product development and geographic reach, with the company now reporting a team of over 170 employees across Frankfurt and Paris [Laura Thomä LinkedIn].
A Quiet Handoff at the Top
In a significant but understated transition, founder Florian Brokamp stepped down from his operational role as CEO at the end of July 2024 [Thinksurance]. He remains a shareholder and advisor. The helm has been passed to Timm Weitzel, who is identified in company communications as co-founder and CEO [Benjamin Damrau LinkedIn].
This kind of founder succession is a milestone for any venture-scale company. It suggests an organization maturing from a founder-driven startup into an institution with processes that outlast its creators. The continuity of partnerships with major insurers like Allianz, AXA, and HDI,the latter a three-year relationship,hints at a business built on stable enterprise contracts, not just top-down founder relationships [Coverager] [Cash.online].
Where the Wheels Could Come Off
The bet is clear, but the path is not without its potholes. Thinksurance operates in a sector where change is measured in policy renewal cycles, not software sprints.
- Integration fatigue. Every new insurer or broker onboarded requires custom configuration to align with legacy systems and specific product lines. The company's reported support for over 60 insurance lines is a testament to this complexity, but also a potential drag on margins and implementation speed [International Travel & Health Insurance Journal, October 2019].
- The incumbent's response. Large insurance carriers and broker networks have their own IT budgets and could decide to build or buy competing platforms. Thinksurance's success depends on being the neutral, preferred connector, a position that requires constant diplomacy and demonstrated ROI.
- Geographic concentration. While the company has an office in Paris, its core market and cited premium volume are overwhelmingly German [ZoomInfo.com]. Translating its model to other European regulatory regimes is a known challenge for insurtechs.
The company's most plausible answer to these risks is the same as its original wedge: deep, ingrained utility. If you are the system of record for 50,000 brokers' daily workflows, you become very hard to dislodge [EU-Startups, June 2023].
The Unit Economics of Trust
You can frame Thinksurance's progress in a simple, back-of-the-envelope calculation. They report facilitating consultations for 1.5 million customers through their platform [EU-Startups, June 2023]. The German commercial insurance market generates roughly €30 billion in premiums annually [ZoomInfo.com]. If even a conservative fraction of those platform-facilitated consultations convert to policies, the gross written premium flowing through Thinksurance's software represents a significant slice of the market. Their unit of value isn't just a software license, it's a percentage of the industry's total transaction volume that they help make more efficient.
For all its digital ambition, Thinksurance's ultimate competitor isn't another tech startup. It is the entrenched habit of the three-ring binder, the fax machine, and the manual form. Their job is to prove that their digital path is not just cleaner, but fundamentally more profitable for everyone who uses it. They have spent nearly ten years laying the pipe. Now, with a new captain and fresh capital, the test is how much of the €30 billion stream they can channel through it.
Sources
- [International Travel & Health Insurance Journal, October 2019] Thinksurance raises millions in funding | https://www.itij.com/latest/news/thinksurance-raises-millions-funding
- [Osborne Clarke, June 2023] Osborne Clarke advises Segenia Capital on investment in Thinksurance | https://www.osborneclarke.com/news/osborne-clarke-advises-segenia-capital-investment-thinksurance
- [ZoomInfo.com] Thinksurance - Overview, News & Similar companies | https://www.zoominfo.com/c/thinksurance-gmbh/473864166
- [LinkedIn, June 2023] 22 million to rethink insurance | https://www.linkedin.com/posts/fabienne-pittner-47a279132_22-million-to-rethink-insurance-activity-7074710175080665088-8rDe
- [Tracxn] Thinksurance - 2026 Company Profile, Team, Funding, Competitors & Financials | https://tracxn.com/d/companies/thinksurance/__ZtrU8vzualzXJHpig7ad1kJWrR-aqasaNASqus-HgCk
- [EU-Startups, June 2023] Frankfurt-based Thinksurance raises €22 million to empower a new wave of digitalisation in commercial insurance | https://www.eu-startups.com/2023/06/frankfurt-based-thinksurance-raises-e22-million-to-empower-a-new-wave-of-digitalisation-in-commercial-insurance/
- [Laura Thomä LinkedIn] Laura Thomä - Laura Thomä Consulting & Project Management | https://www.linkedin.com/in/laurathomae/
- [Thinksurance] Florian Brokamp will exit his operational role on July 31 | https://thinksurance.us/
- [Benjamin Damrau LinkedIn] Benjamin Damrau - Thinksurance | https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-damrau-3a4b29132/
- [Coverager] Thinksurance profile | https://coverager.com/company/thinksurance/
- [Cash.online] HDI has been working with Thinksurance in the corporate insurance business for three years | https://www.cash.online/versicherung/2021/hdi-und-thinksurance-kooperieren-bei-der-gewinnung-von-neukunden-1390176
- [Insurtech Insights] Thinksurance profile | https://insurtechinsights.com/company/thinksurance