We didn’t start Marshmallow because we loved insurance. Actually, quite the opposite.
It was 2015 and the three of us were working together at another start-up. One day, we were talking to a friend of ours who had recently moved to the UK. They were trying to get car insurance, but kept getting hit by these outrageously expensive quotes.
And we didn’t have to look very hard to see why.
Traditional insurers cash in on migrant drivers. In fact, traditional insurers cash in on a lot of people. Why? Because they work from a default position of distrust, and judge them based on impersonal and outdated systems. In short, the whole industry is broken.
So we started Marshmallow!
From our humble beginnings of offering affordable car insurance to UK newcomers, we’re now growing fast and thinking big. And we’re more determined than ever to take on the industry and change it for the better - for everyone.
A person without a credit history needs to drive to work. An unemployed person still needs to buy groceries. An expat without a UK driving licence needs to pick their kids up from school. We use technology to make it possible
For such a stiff and (we’ll say it) boring industry, insurance has a pretty great backstory.
Mediterranean sailing merchants start paying an extra fee to their lenders, with a guarantee that no repayment would be needed if their cargo got lost or stolen at sea.
It’s the Middle Ages. Insurance has been around for over a thousand years, but no one thought to slap a signature on them until now.
In unrelated news, the Plague arrives in Spain on merchant ships...
A fire breaks out in a bakery and spreads across the city. 85% of the population lose their homes. The cogs start turning, and insurance is being thought of as a necessity, not just a luxury.
Up until now, travel insurance had been all about the ships. So when the first car insurance was drawn up, it described cars as ‘ships navigating on land’. Which is one way of looking at them.
When humans started to get itchy feet, we took to the skies. So the insurance industry had to follow. Say hello to satellite cover, moon mission cover, and even insurance for alien abductions.
So, after 4000 years of pretty slow evolution, we want to speed things up a bit.
We've come from insuring things at sea to… well, things on land. And more recently, things in space!
We’ll continue to keep protecting the things you care about (not in space just yet) by building new ways to support you in your hour of need with insurance that’s easy, affordable, and on your side.
But our ambition is much bigger. We want to help you avoid that distress altogether, investing in ways to make you safer in the first place. We’re developing a culture of trust, which allows us all to test out bold ideas and explore new ground.
Alexander
Kent-Braham
Oliver
Kent-Braham
David Goaté
We’ve come a long way already, and we’re growing fast. Become a Marshmallower and help shape the next part of our story.
Careers at MarshmallowMarshmallow is a trading name of Marshmallow Financial Services Limited who are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (reference number: 797672). We are also registered with the Information Commissioners Office in relation to the processing of personal information (registration number: ZA295898). Marshmallow Financial Services Limited is incorporated in England and Wales (company number: 11005345). Our registered address is Fourth Floor, 80 Old Street, London, EC1V 9AZ.
