(Image source: Beam Dental homepage.)
Beam Dental, a Columbus, Ohio-based startup that styles itself a next-generation provider of dental insurance for small and medium-sized businesses, has announced that it has raised $22.5 million in Series C funding led by Kleiner Perkins (Menlo Park, Calif.). Beam Dental reports that it will use the funds to expand its technology platform nationwide from the 16 states in which it currently operates. Kleiner Perkins’ Lucas Swisher will join Beam’s board of directors.
Alex Frommeyer, CEO, Beam Dental.
Founded by Alex Frommeyer, Alex Curry, and Dan Dykes in 2012, Beam characterizes its activities as offering a customer-first model to transform the $78 billion dental insurance market, providing a better service experience across the entire benefits ecosystem, for brokers, businesses, and members. Beam seeks to smooth the insurance lifecycle for both brokers and businesses when onboarding customers and managing claims. The company says that it also provides unique dental care perks in the form of a reoccurring subscription service that includes an electric toothbrush, paste, floss, and replacement heads, delivered directly to the member’s door.
“There has been little innovation in dental insurance in many years, resulting in a commoditized market,” comments Alex Frommeyer, CEO, Beam Dental. “We’re excited to partner with Kleiner Perkins to change the expectations of SMBs all over the country when it comes to accessing affordable dental care with best in class service and support.”
Beam’s platform is designed to consume and segment a business’ data to assess underwriting risk and price premiums better than its competitors. The company has automated critical aspects of policy administration—from enrollments to claims processing—to improve the speed and efficiency of its customer service.
Lucas Swisher, Kleiner Perkins.
Partnership with VSP VisionCare
Along with the Series C announcement Beam reported that it has expanded its offerings in response to customer demand. The company recently announced a partnership with VSP VisionCare to offer high-quality vision plans as a bundle with its core dental product line.
“Beam’s customer-centric focus at all stages of the value chain—from broker to business to member—is what initially attracted us to the business,” comments Lucas Swisher, Kleiner Perkins. “They’ve also optimized their cost structure in a unique way using software to automate key parts of the administrative stack. This combination is powerful, enabling Beam to find the right customers and offer them a better experience, often at a lower price.”