Global technology-focused investment company Battery Ventures has invested in climate risk-focused managing general agent (MGA) Descartes Underwriting.

This investment was carried out at a premium compared with its latest Series B valuation and welcomes Battery Ventures into the company’s shareholder base.

Descartes Underwriting CEO and co-founder Tanguy Touffut said: “Over the past six years, Descartes has established itself as the leading parametric insurance business for climate-related risks, remaining true to our scientific approach to risk transfer.

“As we scale globally to address the widening protection gap around natural disasters, we are thrilled to welcome Marcus – one of the world’s most accomplished insurtech entrepreneurs – whose experience and vision will be invaluable as we execute our ambitious road map.”

Battery Ventures partner Marcus Ryu, who is also a former CEO and co-founder of Guidewire Software, is set to become part of Descartes as a board observer following the investment.

Guidewire Software, valued at $20bn, is known for its cloud-based core systems and analytics for the property and casualty (P&C) insurance industry.

Ryu said: “Over 20 years of serving the global P&C insurance industry informs my keen interest in applying technology to address the enormous underinsurance gap.  Parametric insurance is one of – if not the – most promising approaches to transfer risk efficiently, and like many industry participants I believe it will continue to grow in importance and adoption.

“The team at Descartes Underwriting is uniquely credentialed in this domain, and I am very impressed with the market and thought leadership position they have built with brokers, capacity partners and insureds in a short period.”

Descartes has a presence in more than 60 countries with 19 offices on four continents.

With 230 professionals, the company caters to a diverse client base. In the previous year, it amassed in excess of $200m in total written premium.

The strategic investment by Battery Ventures comes after Descartes Underwriting’s announcement in December 2022 of the launch of a new full-stack insurer, Descartes Insurance.