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Deal analysis · Insurtech

Hero Seguros: first round of BRL 35 million with a secondary component

A B2B2C travel insurance MGA with more than four million insured raises its first round with a partial sale by the founders and opens in Argentina; Mexico is not among the announced markets.

By Israel Cerda de la Garza ( LinkedIn opens in a new window ) · · 5 min read

Hero Seguros, a Brazilian MGA for travel insurance, financial protection and extended warranty founded in 2022, announced between 25 March and 2 April 2026 its first equity round: BRL 35 million, about USD 7 million, led by Headline XP with participation from Actyus. It matters because it includes a secondary component in a first round, which is uncommon, and because the company arrives with more than four million insured and close to BRL 300 million in premiums in 2025.

The transaction

Headline XP leads the round and Actyus participates. Part of the entry was made through the purchase of stakes from the founding partners, that is, a secondary; the founders retain operational control (Panrotas). The split between primary and secondary capital and the valuation were not disclosed.

Hero distributes on a B2B2C model through partners in the financial sector (BTG, QI Tech, Ciclic, Daycoval) and the travel sector (Copastur, BeFly, Voetur), plus a network of more than 5,000 travel agencies and brokers. The announced use of proceeds is to broaden the portfolio in Brazil and begin regional expansion, with an office in Puerto Madero, Buenos Aires, and operations in Argentina from April 2026. None of the sources mentions Mexico among the planned markets.

Value drivers

Distribution scale before the first institutional cheque. More than 4 million insured accumulated, 1.8 million added in 2025 alone and close to BRL 300 million in premiums that year, 75% in travel (Panrotas, Startupi). In our reading, the price is explained by a distribution base built before any venture capital came in.

Someone else’s channel, someone else’s risk. As an MGA, Hero does not retain risk on its balance sheet and sells on its partners’ customer bases. The more than BRL 30 million in claims paid in 2025 against close to BRL 300 million in premiums give a sense of the loss experience of the travel book (Panrotas); in our reading, that ratio is what draws a growth fund.

The secondary as a signal. That the lead investor agrees to buy shares from the founders in the first round indicates, in our reading, that the valuation rests on cash generation rather than promise: a fund rarely pays liquidity to the founders of a company that is still burning capital.

Product diversification. The 25% of premiums outside travel, in financial protection and extended warranty, shows that the distribution engine works in more than one line (Panrotas).

What the market is signalling

Hero shows that an embedded insurance enabler can reach scale with distribution partners before touching venture capital, and that the first round can include partial liquidity for founders. The market rewards multilatinas: insurtechs operating in a single country are four times more likely to fail (MAPFRE), which explains why the round is announced together with the opening in Argentina.

The read-across for Mexico runs through the channel. Hero sells through banks, fintechs and travel agencies; the replicable model in Mexico is an agent or MGA that underwrites with authorised insurers and distributes through consumer credit and travel channels. Hero has not confirmed an entry into Mexico, but the country is the region’s second-largest insurtech ecosystem, with 150 companies (MAPFRE). For Mexican insurers with a travel assistance business, the signal is that a competitor with embedded distribution and fresh capital can arrive at any time; for founders, that a secondary is negotiable when premiums and loss experience are documented.

G2’s reading for a mandate

In a first round with a secondary, preparation starts by separating two negotiations: the price of the primary capital, anchored on premiums, loss experience and retention per distribution partner, and the discount on the secondary, which the fund will treat as a distinct instrument. Indispensable materials are a loss and commission table by channel and product, the distribution contracts with terms and exclusivities and an expansion plan with cost per country. The term sheet must fix the maximum secondary amount and its governance before due diligence opens.

Sources

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