Israeli-Founded Insurance Startup Lemonade Files For IPO

US-Israeli online insurance company Lemonade has filed to go public. The company filed a registration statement this week with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) for an IPO (initial public offering) on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the LMND ticker symbol.

The number of shares to be offered and the price range for the proposed offering has yet to be determined, a statement from the company said.

Goldman Sachs Group (GS), Morgan Stanley (MS), Allen & Co and Barclays (BCS) are lead underwriters on the deal.

While Lemonade doesn’t announce the details of the offering, the registered statement does showcase the company’s revenues. It reveals that Lemonade’s financials went from $22.5 million in 2018 to $67.3 million in 2019. Losses more than doubled to $108.5 million. Revenues for the first quarter of 2020 reached $26.2 million and losses were at $36.5 million.

According to the filing, Lemonade will target an IPO of $100 million.

Lemonade is targeting a $100 million IPO according to its filings. That number is imprecise, but directionally useful. What the placeholder target tells us is that the company is more likely to try to raise $100 million to $300 million in its debut than it is to take aim at $500 million or more.

Founded in 2015 by Shai Wininger, also a co-founder of Fiverr, and Daniel Schreiber, Lemonade uses behavioral economics, artificial intelligence, and chatbots to deliver renters and homeowners insurance policies and handle claims quickly for users in nearly two dozen states across the US. It offers renters insurance starting at $5 per month, and homeowners insurance starting at $25 per month.

Last year, the company raised a $300 million Series D funding round led by Japan’s Softbank Group Corporation, with participation from Allianz, General Catalyst, GV, OurCrowd and Thrive Capital.

Lemonade’s planned IPO was reportedly postponed after the failure of WeWork’s IPO last year, according to Israeli financial daily Globes. The company began to operate in New York in 2016 and also has a license to operate in most US states. Last year, Lemonade began operating in Europe.