Blink

Blink is a provider of parametric insurance product solutions for B2B partners.

Blink’s policies ensure that users will be guaranteed a reimbursement fee should their flight be cancelled. Coverage is a flat rate of £6.50 for all commercial European flights. The venture can also provide a simple re-arrangement service whereby a a re-booking will occur rather than a reimbursement. If no alternative flights are available for customers then Blink provides alternative transport options such as coaches or trains.

Founded in 2016, it experienced rapid growth. In 2017, it successfully formed a partnership with large corporate Munich Re and were acquired by CPP Group PLC for an undisclosed amount soon after.

In 2018, also, Blink announced a pan-Asian partnership with Generali Hong Kong, which will see the latter expand its product offerings to include travel disruption insurance for reinsurance clients across the region. Later that year, Blink went live with its travel delay add-on “Serenity Service” in Canada, reporting 4 months later that they had signed up thousands of clients across the nation.

In August 2019, Blink announced two partnerships - first with Zurich-backed Pluto, and shortly after with leading Canadian insurer Manulife.

In February 2020, Blink launched its Parametric Platform. The platform, which harnesses big data to expand real-time insurance solutions, is available across travel, climate, energy and IoT sectors. Blink Travel offers real-time options to customers if they experience a delay or missed flight, such as a lounge pass, hotel room or instant cash pay-out. Blink Climate provides cover for users who are affected by specific weather conditions (such as farmers suffering from flooding), whilst Energy & IoTis a solution that is adaptable to risk factors such as domestic appliances and industrial-led IoT.

Several months later, in April 2020, Blink launched Blink Luggage. The insurtech will offer an automatic pay-out if luggage is delayed from reaching its intended destination, offering lounge access and more. If the luggage is lost for more than 4 days, then an additional pay-out is added.

In August 2020 Blink was revealed to be part of Lloyd's Lab's fifth cohort.

In November 2020 Blink launched a new Business Interruption solution, which was developed within the Lloyd's Lab Accelerator. Blink Interruption is a non-damage parametric insurance solution which provides liquidity to small and medium-sized businesses in the immediate aftermath of an insured event (such as a hurricane), thereby reducing overall claims totals as a direct result of early intervention.

In January 2021 Blink partnered with Allianz Partnerships, embedding its technology within Allianz Partners' travel policies. Its affinity partners are also offering the insurtech solution.

In March 2021, Blink expanded into Central and Latin America.

That same month, the company announced a management handover, whereby Co-Founders Paul Prendergast and Peter Bermingham revealed they were stepping down from their roles (CEO and CTO respectively) from April 16th to look at new opportunities. Parent company CPP Group intends to bring the company operations under central management.

In January 2022 Blink teamed up with Canadian MGA AwayCare. Their new joint travel product, Blink Flight Disruption, will be underwritten by Northbridge Financial Corporation and aims to address the ongoing travel uncertainty driven by Covid-19. The partnership comes as a response to the last two challenging years for the travel industry, aiming to build traveller confidence following lockdowns.

In February 2022 Blink teamed up with Zurich Canada to provide parametric flight disruption cover to policyholders, providing real-time support no matter where they're travelling. Blink also revealed it's now capable of processing up to 100k claims an hour.

In March 2022 Blink Parametric partnered with MNK Re, a specialist Lloyd's of London insurance and reinsurance broker, to roll-out Blink's flagship parametric flight disruption solution.

Blink Parametric expanded its partnership with benefits provider Alberta Blue Cross in order to enhance its current travel product in Canada in July 2022. The current collaboration serves more than 1.8M Albertans through group, government and individual plans. As part of the extended partnership, Blue Cross will offer a product with which policyholders can register for a flight delay up to 1 hour before departure.