Hip-hop superstar and business mogul Shawn Carter aka Jay-Z is adding another business to his already impressive portfolio of investments. His entertainment company Roc Nation along with the family funds of actors Will Smith, Robert Downey Jr., and recent NBA Champion and Finals MVP Kevin Durant have participated in a new round of funding for the life insurance start-up, Ethos Life Insurance, led by one of the world top venture firms, Sequoia Capital, in a total offering worth $11.5 million. Licensed in 49 states, Ethos bills itself as a company that is making life insurance accessible, affordable and simple with its availability to consumers who have college debt, mortgages, spouses and children.
Ironically, since 1989, the number of life insurance policies have dropped 17% nationwide. Whether it’s because no one trusts companies to actually pay out or because Americans are putting their faith in anti-aging technologies, people are not buying life insurance the way that they used to do.
Ethos’ aim has been to make the life insurance process much more seamless. Whereas it traditionally takes up to ten weeks for approval, people can apply and qualify for an Ethos policy after a ten-minute application. The platform also provides a non-commissioned licensed agent available to give unbiased guidance, and unlike other life insurance plans, more than 99% of Ethos customers have required not medical exam or blood tests to get a policy.
“Life insurance is critical for families, but the process is broken for those who want and need it,” says the companies co-founder, Peter Colis. “We are consumer advocates, intensely focused on expanding life insurance accessibility to the millions of U.S. families who have college debt, mortgages, spouses and children to care for, and who want to be financially empowered to live their lives without worry.”
Ethos has already received thousands of applications.
