Farmers Insurance has become an equity investor in a fintech company focused on helping make a home rental easier and more affordable. Munich Re invested in a smart home startup whose electrical panel lets you intelligently monitor and control your home energy use.

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Farmers Insurance said it has become an equity investor of Jetty, a fintech company focused on helping to make a home rental easier and more affordable.

Neither side disclosed financial specifics.

Farmers will take a minority stake in Jetty, which will be used to further enhance Jetty’s existing products and support development of new ones. The investment follows a deal disclosed in June 2020 making Farmers-owned Toggle Insurance Company the exclusive reinsurance provider for all new policies written under Jetty’s core products: Jetty Deposit and Jetty Renters Insurance.

Jetty’s technology is designed to help property managers increase lease conversion, reduce bad debt, and streamline operations. For the renter, Jetty lowers the barrier to entry, saving residents thousands of dollars on move-in costs.

Other Jetty investors include Ribbit Capital, Valar and Khosla Ventures.

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Munich Re Ventures’ HSB fund is the lead investor for Span, a smart home startup whose electrical panel lets you intelligently monitor and control your home energy use.

Span describes its Smart Panel as employing “precise energy monitoring” at the circuit level, with “real-time controls, and onboard intelligence. The technology is designed to give insights into home energy use, as well as customizable backup that extends home battery outage protection, all via the Span Home App.

The Alexa Fund also participated in the financing, along with existing investors. Span, which began shipping the Span Smart Panel to customers in the summer of 2020, said the new investment will help expand its market reach and develop new products. Additionally, the company is pursuing Alexa voice integration (Alexa is owned by Amazon), so customers can use Alexa-enabled devices to turn on or off any circuit or appliance in their home, find out what energy source is providing power, or discover what appliance is using the most power.

Sources: Farmers Insurance/Jetty, Munich Re/HSB/Span