Kettle
Kettle uses AI wildfire models to underwrite and reinsure California cat risk.
On the record
Checkpoint: 2026 California wildfire season loss-ratio results versus Liberty/ICEYE product
The call
Kettle is a working AI wildfire insurer with real premium growth, but a bigger, better-funded rival just launched a near-identical product.
Kettle is a real insurance company that uses artificial intelligence and satellite images to predict wildfires and price insurance policies faster and cheaper than traditional companies. A bigger competitor called Liberty Mutual, working with a satellite company named ICEYE, launched almost the exact same product in June 2026, and they have way more money and better satellite data than Kettle does. The key question is whether Kettle can raise serious new funding and sign a big insurance partner in the next year, because without that, Liberty Mutual's money and satellites could grab all the customers before Kettle gets established.
Why
01
AI pressure: Liberty Mutual Reinsurance and ICEYE parametric wildfire product. ICEYE satellite data plus Liberty's balance sheet directly copies Kettle's model in its core wildfire niche, launched June 2026. Could AI do the core job? Yes, likely.
02
Bigger players: Verisk/AIR, Moody's RMS, CoreLogic, Swiss Re and Munich Re adopting AI cat models. Big cat modelers and reinsurers are folding AI wildfire scoring into their own tools, shrinking Kettle's data edge over time. Could a giant copy it? Yes, easily.
03
What protects it. Kettle's five years of wildfire loss history and its rated paper deal with RLI give it live distribution rivals still lack.
What would change this call
Kettle announces a priced Series B within 6-12 months. Would show investors still value Kettle despite funding stall since 2021.
Liberty Mutual/ICEYE report bound premium or named clients after the 2026 wildfire season. Would show the incumbent is actively winning business in Kettle's core market.
Kettle announces a second rated-paper carrier partner beyond RLI. Would show Kettle broadening distribution instead of staying reliant on one partner.
Liberty Mutual/ICEYE report bound premium or named clients after the 2026 wildfire season. Would show the incumbent is actively winning business in Kettle's core market.
Kettle announces a second rated-paper carrier partner beyond RLI. Would show Kettle broadening distribution instead of staying reliant on one partner.
Key numbers
- $29.7M total funding since 2020
- No priced round since 2021 Series A
- Premium grew 3x year over year
Named risks
- No priced venture round since 2021 Series A despite five years of operation.
- Well-capitalized rival Liberty Mutual/ICEYE launched directly competing product in June 2026.
- Small headcount (11-50) limits ability to scale distribution and underwriting capacity.
- Book concentrated in California wildfire exposes Kettle to seasonal catastrophic loss volatility.
- Dependence on single rated-paper partner RLI/Mt. Hawley for underwriting capacity since Feb 2026.
Rivals, as read in July 2026
| Rival | Direction | Evidence |
|---|---|---|
| Liberty Mutual Reinsurance / ICEYE | gaining on | Launched satellite-powered parametric wildfire product June 2026, backed by >€10B ICEYE valuation |
| ZestyAI | contesting | AI-powered peril-specific property risk models cited as closest insurtech peer, per Bloomberg 2021-08-26 |
| Cape Analytics | contesting | Satellite/aerial property risk analytics used by State Farm and MetLife, per Bloomberg 2021-08-26 |
| Delos Insurance Solutions | contesting | California wildfire-focused homeowners MGA launched 2017, still active per 2025-01-21 report |
Questions people ask
- Is Kettle profitable in 2026?
- No audited revenue figures for Kettle are publicly disclosed as of March 2024. The company has claimed (self-reported) premium growth of more than 3x year over year as of November 2024, but profitability itself has not been confirmed by any independent source.
- Who owns Kettle the wildfire insurtech?
- Kettle is privately held and venture-backed, founded 2020 by Andrew Engler and Nathaniel Manning. In February 2026, specialty insurer RLI Corp, via subsidiary Mt. Hawley Insurance Company, made a strategic equity investment, its first outside corporate backer beyond the original VC syndicate.
- Could AI replace Kettle's business model?
- Kettle's entire product IS AI, deep learning models predicting wildfire ignition and spread. The risk is inverse: in June 2026 Liberty Mutual Reinsurance and satellite firm ICEYE (valued over 10 billion euros) launched a directly competing AI parametric wildfire product, threatening to out-capitalize Kettle at its own game.
- Who is Kettle's biggest competitor?
- As of June 2026, Liberty Mutual Reinsurance partnered with satellite intelligence firm ICEYE, backed by a roughly 1 billion euro Series F at over 10 billion euro valuation, to launch a satellite-powered parametric wildfire insurance product competing directly in Kettle's niche.
- Has Kettle raised new funding recently?
- Kettle's last priced venture round was a $25M Series A in November 2021, part of roughly $29.7M total disclosed funding. In February 2026 it received a strategic equity investment from RLI Corp via Mt. Hawley Insurance Company, but no new priced VC round has been reported since 2021.
- What does Kettle actually do?
- Kettle is an AI and deep-learning-driven managing general agent underwriting catastrophic climate risk, starting with California wildfire in 2020 and expanding to hurricane reinsurance (2023) and multi-peril commercial property insurance with RLI/Mt. Hawley (February 2026).
Timeline
- 2026-06-15Liberty Mutual Reinsurance and ICEYE launch satellite-powered parametric wildfire insurance product
- 2026-02-23RLI Corp/Mt. Hawley make strategic equity investment, launch multi-peril property product with Kettle
- 2024-11-05Isaac Espinoza named CEO, replacing co-founder Andrew Engler
- 2023-06-26Kettle partners with Reask for parametric hurricane reinsurance
- 2021-11-19Kettle raises $25M Series A led by Acrew Capital
- 2021-04-21Kettle Limited licensed in Bermuda as Innovative Agent
- 2020-10-20Kettle launches, founded by Andrew Engler and Nathaniel Manning
Revision history
23 July 2026
First assessed. Protection under test. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.
In the same band
Sources
- Deep-Learning Powered Reinsurance Company Kettle Launches (2020-10-20)
- AI focused reinsurtech Kettle licensed as Innovative Agent in Bermuda (2021-04-21)
- Wildfire reinsurance insurtech Kettle raises $25m Series A (2021-11-19)
- Insurtech Kettle, RLI launch wildfire-focused commercial property cover (2026-02-23)
- Our Kettle Inc. Company Profile (2024-03-14)
- Executives on the Move at Kettle, Aon, Lloyd's (2024-11-05)
- Insurtechs' Approach to Wildfire Insurance: Part II, Kettle (2025-01-22)
- Balancing risk in a changing climate
- Kettle, Lloyd's Lab
- Kettle offering parametric hurricane reinsurance (2023-06-26)
- Nat Manning
- Technology