Sumitomo Corporation has taken a stake in Singapore insurtech Bolttech and will help launch a new service in Asia to meet growing smartphone insurance and subscription demand.

The partners say the device insurance market will expand rapidly, driven by urbanisation and digital insurance access, especially among younger demographics.

The rollout will begin in southeast Asia before moving across the region, targeting 10 million customers by 2030.

“Sumitomo Corporation’s expertise in devices and vast network, combined with our distribution capabilities, will drive us forward in creating a better protection experience for consumers in Asia,” Bolttech CEO Rob Schimek said.

Bolttech offers more than 6000 insurance and protection products.

In October 2023, Allianz Partners and Bolttech united to offer device and appliance protection across Asia-Pacific and the US.  Allianz said then it was a largely underpenetrated market worldwide.  

Bolttech’s oversubscribed $US180 million ($244 million) series A funding round in 2021 set a record for an insurtech and valued the company at more than $US1 billion ($1.4 billion), giving it “unicorn status” a year after launch.