Pequot Ventures Leads Round for Online Health Insurance Marketplace
NEW YORK and SHELTON, Conn., April 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Health Plan One
(http://www.healthplanone.com), an innovative online marketplace for health
insurance, today announced the completion of a $6.5 million Series A round
of investment, led by Pequot Ventures. Other investors include Greycroft
Partners and industry veterans Kevin Hill, a longtime EVP with Oxford
Health Plans and most recently CEO for United Healthcare Northeast, Chan
Wheeler, former CEO of Uniprise, a UnitedHealth Group company and Bill
Sullivan, former President of Oxford Health Plans.
Health Plan One (HPO) offers a robust online platform for consumers to
research and select health insurance plans from a wide range of offerings
by leading national carriers. Before applying for or purchasing a health
care plan, consumers can receive free health insurance quotes and compare
features among multiple options rather than researching individual plans
from disparate sources. HPO provides both online and offline support from
nationally licensed sales representatives who are trained to help navigate
the difficult process of selecting an individual, family, small group or
Medicare plan. Health Plan One will use the Series A funds to fuel growth
in online customer acquisition and secure its place as a premier
marketplace for health insurance. "Our investors are not only behind some
of the Internet's most successful and innovative businesses, but they also
bring world-class insurance technology expertise to our company," said
Health Plan One CEO Bill Stapleton. "We will undoubtedly benefit from the
vision and leadership of our new partners to become the preferred
destination in the fast-growing online health insurance market."
With the close of this round of funding, Larry Lenihan, co-head of
Pequot Ventures, will join Chan Wheeler and Kevin Hill on the Board of
Directors. "Health Plan One is well-positioned to execute on a large market
opportunity capitalizing on recent employment trends including the shift in
burden from employer to employee for rising health care costs, as well as
the growth of the self-employed population, who require individual health
care plans. HPO fills a gap in the market with a superior customer
experience relative to the existing online alternatives." Lenihan
continued, "HPO also fits perfectly with our focus and expertise in
insurance technology and emerging online markets, and is consistent with
our investment philosophy to partner with innovative, market-leading
companies."
About Health Plan One
Health Plan One is a leading online health insurance marketplace
serving individuals, families, small groups and Medicare recipients. The
Health Plan One platform allows consumers to make well-informed decisions
about their health insurance needs by offering online and offline sales
support and customer service 24-hours a day. Based in Shelton, CT, HPO was
founded in 2006 by health insurance veterans and backed by Pequot Ventures
and Greycroft Partners. For more information, please visit
http://www.healthplanone.com .
About Pequot Ventures
Pequot Capital Management, Inc. and Pequot Ventures, the New York
City-based venture capital arm of Pequot Capital, recently announced that
they have decided to separate their businesses, effective June 30, 2008. As
part of the separation, the investment principals of Pequot Ventures will
form a new firm, FirstMark Capital. FirstMark will assume the investment
management operations of Pequot Ventures and, with investor approval, will
take on the full responsibility for the assets currently under the
management of Pequot Ventures. FirstMark Capital will continue to focus on
investing in innovative market-leading technology companies.
For more than a decade, Pequot Ventures has partnered with talented
entrepreneurs and experienced managers to build market-leading enterprises.
With nearly $2 billion in capital commitments, Pequot brings energy,
insight and substantial sector expertise to create competitive, sustainable
businesses and long-term value. Select investments include: Netgear, Inc.;
First Advantage Corp.; StubHub, Inc (Acquired by eBay, Inc.); Netegrity,
Inc. (Acquired by CA Inc); Flarion, Inc. (Acquired by Qualcomm, Inc.);
OutlookSoft Inc. (Acquired by SAP AG); Analex Corp. (Acquired by QinetiQ);
Vallent (Acquired by IBM) and Syndesis (Acquired by Subex). For more
information, please visit http://www.pequotventures.com or http://www.firstmarkcap.com .
About Greycroft Partners
Greycroft Partners, based in New York City, is a venture capital
partnership formed to invest in promising digital media companies. The
firm's $75mm fund includes participation from leading corporate executives
around the world. Greycroft also leverages an extensive network of media
and technology connections to help investees gain visibility, build
strategic relationships, and successfully bring their products to market.
Greycroft's portfolio companies benefit from active, hands-on assistance in
all phases of expansion. For more information, please visit
http://www.greycroftpartners.com
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