PremFina's Art&Co. Disperses Funds to ICU Steps

News provided by

07 Dec, 2020, 08:00 GMT

LONDON, Dec. 7, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Art&Co. ("Art&Co."), an initiative connecting the worlds of art, finance and support groups brings continued relief to COVID-19 victims. It is backed by PremFina ("PremFina" or the "Company"), the U.K.'s first venture capital backed alternative insurance premium finance company.

This image opens in the lightbox — Emsky_The Coverts of Imagination

Art&Co. addresses a stark statistic that only 3% of natural disasters are covered by Insurance. Funds raised from the online auction comprised of more than 200 pieces, supported frontline charities and NGOs providing healthcare, food, medicines, and guidance to those affected by the contagion.

Curated artwork of themes being contemplated by societies worldwide: community, celebrities, depression, domestic violence, environment, health, loneliness, mortality, nature, science, and spirituality. Along with more than 30 emerging artists struggling financially during lockdown, there were also donated works of art from Pablo Picasso, Salvador Dali, Andy Warhol, and Jeff Koons.

Art&Co. has had press in Bloomberg, Business Insider, Evening Standard, The Independent, 1883, The Art Newspaper, The Resident, BBC World Radio, Eastern Eye, Gulf Today and many more.

Art&Co. is a charitable project backed by PremFina and InsurAid. InsurAid is an industry movement that's "unconditionally supporting the uninsurable" during such times of unforeseen catastrophes, that insurance companies are virtually unable to predict, let alone calculate and price for the risk of potential causal loss.

"Medical patients that are in critical care oftentimes don't fully get the physical and mental support they need after they leave hospital. This lack of post hospital-care leaves individuals feeling helpless and frequently does not allow them to fully recover. ICU Steps is a fantastic support organisation which provides this much needed care for recovering patients which extends and betters their overall wellbeing." Founder of Art&Co. and CEO of PremFina, Bundeep Singh Rangar

This charitable art auction encourages both individuals and corporates to participate and bid on one-of-a-kind art representing themes connected to these trying times, such as health, nature, and spirituality. The funds raised will mostly go to frontline organisations, with the remainder going toward more than 30 freelance artists who are contributing their work and otherwise unable to sell art due to the lockdown. The artwork purchased will become a tangible display of their efforts to support those challenged in the years to come and can be used as a part of their Corporate Social Responsibility goals.

ICU Steps, Peter Gibbs said "Whatever the reason for a patient's admission to ICU, critical illness can be a traumatic experience. We try to make sure that surviving isn't so traumatic. With the help of former patients, relatives, healthcare professionals and fundraising events like Art&Co., we're able to help ICU survivors on their long road to recovery after leaving intensive care. Though our network of peer support groups, the provision of patient information and work with ICU researchers on topics that matter most to patients, we try to make the road to recovery as smooth as we can. Critical care may save our lives, but we need support and rehabilitation to give those lives back to us."

The auction supports Art&Co.'s mandate to support those affected by humanitarian disasters, public health and safety crises, focusing on events for which insurance is scarce or unavailable.

London-based insurtech firm PremFina's shareholders include global investors Rakuten Capital, the investment arm of Japan's Rakuten, a global leader in e-commerce and fintech, the UK's Draper Esprit Plc, backed by Silicon Valley billionaire Tim Draper, Thomvest Ventures - the venture capital firm of Peter Thomson, whose family is known for its namesake Thomson Reuters Corp., Emery Capital, US-based Rubicon Venture Capital, London-based Talis Capital and the company's founder.

COVID-19 facts regarding ICU patients and the creative industry:

Rates of delirium for patients in the intensive care unit (ICU) have skyrocketed in the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. https://www.ajmc.com/view/risks-of-developing-delirium-in-icu-patients-with-covid-19

About PremFina Ltd

PremFina Ltd is a UK-based premium finance company that promotes financial inclusion by enabling the payment of insurance premiums via instalments. It supplies insurance brokers with funding lines and also enables broker-funded and branded credit agreements via its Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) and also enables affiliate IXL PremFina Ltd. With PremFina, brokers receive higher profit, greater autonomy, and the opportunity to increase the lifetime value of their customers as well as cross-sell and up-sell additional products. PremFina's shareholders include global investors Rakuten Capital, Draper Esprit Plc, Thomvest Ventures, Emery Capital, Rubicon Venture Capital, Talis Capital and the company's founder.

Art&Co. website: https://www.artandco.net

PremFina website:

https://www.premfina.com

InsurAid website:

https://insuraid.co.uk/

Charities that Art&Co. work with:

Solace Women's Aid website:

https://www.solacewomensaid.org/

The Care Workers Charity website:

https://www.thecareworkerscharity.org.uk/

ICUSteps website:

https://www.icusteps.org/