# Superscript Financial Model Digital-first MGA (Managing General Agent) selling subscription-based SME insurance online, formerly trading as Digital Risks. - Canonical: https://finamodel.com/startups/superscript - Excel download: https://finamodel.com/startup-models/superscript.xlsx - Category: InsurTech - Model type: Insurance GWP - Funding round: Series A - Funding: $10.4M - Founded: 2021 - Geography: UK (current); pan-European expansion planned 2020–2022 [DECK slide 24] - Customer: B2B ## About the company Superscript is a digital MGA for small-business insurance, selling modular policies online with flexible monthly subscriptions. It offers professional indemnity, cyber, liability, equipment, business interruption, and other cover through self-serve and enterprise channels. The company generated £2.8 million of new premium sales in the first half of 2019, had 99% monthly retention, and averaged 2.4 products per customer. It earns MGA commission on GWP and can share underwriting profit while risk sits with carrier partners. The model is SME-insurance GWP and commission. Customers, policies per customer, average premium, commission, channel mix, renewals, and loss experience build revenue. Digital acquisition, broker distribution, cross-sell, and carrier economics determine margin. ## What's included - 5-year monthly revenue build with stage-appropriate growth assumptions - Full P&L, headcount plan, and operating-expense schedule - Cash-flow statement, runway, and burn-rate tracking - Valuation via exit multiple with a DCF cross-check - Returns analysis with MOIC and IRR - Unit economics including CAC, LTV, payback, and cohort retention ## Product & value proposition - Online quote-and-buy platform for SME insurance; modular, subscription-based (cancel/change anytime). - Three product tiers (Essential, Professional, Management) plus an account-managed Enterprise service for larger or more complex risks (£20k–£100k premium spend). - Key product lines: professional indemnity, cyber, employers liability, public liability, equipment, business interruption, D&O, trade credit, key person. - Pricing example: professional indemnity from ~£12.58/month inc. tax. - Hyper-personalisation: real-time data-driven recommendations at point of purchase (e.g. "72% of software developers like you have taken this cover"). - API-first, modular tech stack; single-line widget deployment for partner white-labelling. ## Market - Addressable business count (used as market proxy, not premium TAM): - 2019: 2.1m businesses (current UK focus) - 2020: 10.9m businesses (expanded UK + initial Europe) - 2021: 19.7m businesses - 2022+: 52.5m businesses across EEA + USA - 2018→2019 trades served: 160% increase; 2019→2020 projected: 420%+ increase. - By 2019 servicing 750+ trades (4x vs 2018). - No explicit £/€ TAM figure provided in deck. ## Revenue model - MGA model: Superscript designs and distributes insurance products; risk sits with A-rated carrier panel (Lloyd's coverholder, Aviva, Tokio Marine HCC, others). Earns commission on GWP and shares in underwriting profit as book matures. - Monthly subscription premium collected from customer; Superscript remits net premium to carrier, retains commission. - Three distribution channels: 1. Online direct - self-serve digital channel targeting fast-growth SME segments 2. Enterprise - account-managed service for larger/complex risks 3. Partnerships & aggregators - white-label API integrations; expected to become largest channel by 2021 - Revenue grows via: new customers, cross-sell (avg. 2.4 products/customer), upsell to higher tiers, geographic expansion, underwriting profit participation as book seasons. ## Traction & metrics - H1 2019 new premium sales: £2.8m - Full-year 2019 expected premium sales: £3.2m - Customer growth since July 2018: 377% - MoM retention rate: 99% (high average) - Trustpilot rating: 9.5/10 "Excellent" - Avg. products per customer: 2.4 - 90% of customers buy same day - 57% of customers buy in under 10 minutes - Avg. time to get a price: 2 mins; avg. time to buy: 8 mins - Quote & bind v4.0 (Jan 2019): 150% uplift in quote starts, 10% improved conversion rate - Trades served 2019: 750+ (4x more than 2018) - Prior-period bar chart (H1 2017 → H1 2019) shows step-change acceleration; absolute values for H1/H2 2017 and H1/H2 2018 not labelled on chart axes - only H1 2019 (£2.8m) is annotated. - Backed by Concentric, Seedcamp, Beazley. 21 full-time staff. ## Unit economics - LTV:CAC ratio (indexed, not absolute): shown as ~2x in 2019, rising to ~4x in 2020 and ~6x in 2021 on a stacked bar chart. - Components of improvement: lower CAC (improved conversion %), underwriting profit share, improved retention, product uptake. - No absolute CAC or LTV £ figures disclosed. - No gross margin or commission rate percentage disclosed. - Avg. premium per customer not explicitly stated; can be inferred: £3.2m expected GWP ÷ customer count (count not disclosed). ## Competition / moat - Competitors characterised as "mainstream, highly-commoditised" annual-contract brokers limited to simpler risks. - "Online competition ends" at simpler risk profiles; Superscript extends further up the complexity curve. - Moat claims: - In-house underwriting expertise (MGA licence, Lloyd's coverholder) - Proprietary end-to-end tech (rating engine, policy/billing management, API distribution) - Independence from single carrier → better commercial terms at scale - Hyper-personalisation / data flywheel - FCA regulated; established carrier panel - Partner sectors targeted: Insurance Market, Technology Software, Financial Services, Gig & Community. ## Team & funding ask / use of funds - Founders: Cameron Shearer (CEO), Ben Rose (Chief Underwriting Officer) - Leadership: Peter Barrett (Chairman), Annabel Mekelenkamp (Ops Director), Mai Fenton (VP Marketing), Henry Newby (Partnerships Director), Craig Morris (Head of Engineering) - Headcount: 21 FTE - Investors to date: Concentric, Seedcamp, Beazley - Round: Series A - raise size and use of funds not stated in deck. --- ## Recommended financial model - **Archetype + why:** Insurance MGA / GWP-based 3-statement model with commission P&L overlay. Superscript is an MGA - the primary top-line driver is Gross Written Premium (GWP), not revenue in the SaaS sense. Revenue = commission rate × GWP + underwriting profit share. A subscription cohort model sits underneath (monthly adds, churn, cross-sell). This is closer to an insurance MGA model than a pure SaaS ARR model, though the subscription mechanic makes cohort tracking essential. - **Forecast horizon & granularity:** Monthly for years 1–2 (2019–2020), quarterly for years 3–5 (2021–2023). Needed to capture monthly cohort churn dynamics and the partnership channel ramp. - **Key drivers & assumptions:** | Driver | Value / Source | | -- | -- | | GWP (2019E) | £3.2m | | Avg. monthly premium per customer | ~£25–35/month based on £12.58 example product; blended multi-product customer - needs calibration | | Avg. products per customer | 2.4 growing toward 3.0 by 2021 | | Monthly customer retention rate | 99% | | Monthly churn rate | 1% | | Commission rate (% of GWP) | 20–30% - typical MGA range; not disclosed | | Underwriting profit share | 0% in early years (book not yet seasoned); ramps from 2021 onward | | Customer growth rate | 377% since July 2018; decelerates to ~150% YoY 2019→2020, ~80% 2020→2021 as base grows | | LTV:CAC ratio | ~2x (2019), ~4x (2020), ~6x (2021) | | Distribution mix (2021) | Online direct ~35%, Enterprise ~15%, Partnerships ~50% based on pie chart showing partnerships as dominant future channel | | Headcount growth | ~1.5–2x per year through Series A deployment | | Operating cost structure | Primarily people + tech + marketing; no absolute opex figures in deck | | Geographic rollout | UK only 2019; initial Europe 2020; broader EEA + USA 2022+ | - **Scenarios (Base / Bull / Bear - which variables flex):** - **Base:** 99% retention, customer growth decelerates from 377% to ~150%/80%/50% over 3 years; commission 25%; no underwriting profit until 2022. - **Bull:** Partnerships channel delivers ahead of plan; LTV:CAC hits 6x by 2021 as projected; European launch adds material GWP from 2020; commission + underwriting profit = 30%+ margin. - **Bear:** Retention slips to 96–97% (meaningful in subscription cohort model); partnership channel delayed 12 months; commission pressure from carriers; European expansion 12–18 months late. - **Required sheets / outputs:** 1. Assumptions - all levers in one place 2. Cohort model - monthly new customer adds by channel × retention curve × avg. premium → GWP by vintage 3. Revenue P&L - GWP, commission income, underwriting profit share, net revenue 4. Opex - headcount plan, tech, marketing, G&A 5. EBITDA bridge 6. Balance sheet (simplified - MGA holds minimal float; mainly working capital) 7. Cash flow & runway - burn rate vs. Series A proceeds 8. Unit economics summary - CAC, LTV, payback, LTV:CAC by channel 9. Geographic expansion tab - GWP ramp by country/region 10. Dashboard - KPIs: GWP, active customers, retention, products/customer, LTV:CAC ## Frequently asked questions ### Is the Superscript financial model free? Yes. The Superscript model is a free Excel download with live formulas. ### Can I change the assumptions? Yes. The workbook is editable and its live formulas recalculate when assumptions change.