Neptune Flood Acquires Data Science Firm to Enhance Its AI-Driven Flood Insurance

Private flood insurer Neptune Flood reported it has acquired Charles River Data, a Boston-based data science consulting group. According to Neptune, the strategic move will bolster its underwriting system through advanced data science, machine learning, and artificial intelligence capabilities.

Charles River Data was founded by data scientists from Google and BCG GAMMA to offer custom data science solutions on a project-level or ongoing basis. Its team members have worked on geo-analytics, financial modeling, statistical and causal analysis, image recognition, natural language processing, personalized marketing, optimization and other machine learning tools.

“This acquisition aligns perfectly with our commitment to leveraging the best technology to revolutionize insurance,” said Trevor Burgess, CEO of Neptune Flood.

Mike Dezube, CEO of Charles River Data, spent eight years as a data scientist at Google before co-founding Charles River Data with Gleb Drobkov, most recently a consultant at BCG X. Dezube will join as Neptune’s chief data science officer and Drobkov as Neptune’s chief strategy officer.

“Our expertise in data science aligns seamlessly with Neptune’s vision of accuracy and efficiency in underwriting flood risk, and together, we will bring the industry forward setting new standards as we go,” Dezube said.

Florida-based Neptune, one of the largest digital-based flood insurance companies in the U.S., is an alternative to the federal government’s National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). Neptune offers private flood insurance for residential, commercial, and condominium properties throughout the country. Its on-demand platform allows agents and customers to quote and bind a policy in minutes.

In October 2021, Neptune acquired Jumpstart, a parametric insurance company, adding parametric earthquake to its portfolio.

Last October, the firm boasted of surpassing $200 million of premium in force, bringing it to more than 5% of the NFIP’s size.

Topics
Mergers & Acquisitions
InsurTech
Flood
Data Driven
Artificial Intelligence