Baloise insurtech FRIDAY expanding into France

Newsroom

March 12, 2021. Launched by Baloise as part of its Simply Safe strategy, FRIDAY has grown into Germany’s most popular digital insurer within just four years. FRIDAY set up a technology centre in Warsaw last year with an eye on European growth, and now has the next milestone in sight: expansion into the French market. The goal is the same, namely to become the most popular digital insurer in France. Tech entrepreneur Jehan de Castet and insurance manager Maud Mariani will head up the FRIDAY team in France, combining local expertise with the experience and infrastructure of FRIDAY.

“The launch of FRIDAY in France is a crucial step in the digital strategy at Baloise. The expansion shows how digital insurance solutions that are firmly aligned with customer needs can not only be rapidly scaled but also easily launched in new markets. I am particularly proud that we are taking this step with FRIDAY, as insurtech is one of the key initiatives of Simply Safe, which Baloise has developed from scratch,” says a delighted Gert De Winter, CEO of the Baloise Group.

The FRIDAY team in France will be led by entrepreneur Jehan de Castet. French customers can find out more at www.gofriday.fr. FRIDAY’s insurance solutions are firmly geared towards customer demand for simplicity and peace of mind, and the French offering will be no exception. “The foundation is FRIDAY’s exceptional digital experience. By offering simple processes and innovative solutions, we want to become the no. 1 digital insurer in France,” says Christoph Samwer, CEO of FRIDAY. FRIDAY has been the market leader in Germany since 2017, and was voted the ‘best digital insurer’ based on feedback on the eKomi ratings portal. Since FRIDAY was founded in 2017, the company has acquired over 100,000 customers and is the country’s most popular and best-known digital insurer.

Now, its customer-friendly products are to set standards in terms of innovation and quality in France too. “If you want to create good products, you need a great team. We are delighted to have an experienced entrepreneur such as Jehan de Castet and an insurance expert such as Maud Mariani on our team,” says Christoph Samwer.

Jehan de Castet has already founded two successful insurtech companies, and also founded and managed LesFurets, the leading price comparison site in France. His second company, Fluo, has optimised online insurance advice. In building up the French arm of FRIDAY, Jehan de Castet can rely on Maud Mariani and her business development experience in the insurance sector. Maud Mariani was previously the global head of business development at Generali Group’s EuropAssistance.

“FRIDAY is a role model for the future of the insurance industry. Customers everywhere want a new and straightforward way of managing insurance. In France, the way people use insurance products has changed dramatically due to the effects of the coronavirus pandemic. I am delighted to be leading FRIDAY France to success from our Paris office,” says Jehan de Castet.

FRIDAY currently has a team at four offices: Paris, Berlin, Warsaw and Luxembourg. The expansion into France sees FRIDAY evolve from a national into a European digital insurer.

Original press release available on Baloise.com