WeatherBill, an online service that allows businesses to protect revenue and control costs in the event of bad weather, has closed a $12.5 million (£6.1 million) Series A round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Index Ventures.

WeatherBill, an online service that allows businesses to protect revenue and control costs in the event of bad weather, has closed a $12.5 million (£6.1 million) Series A round led by New Enterprise Associates (NEA) and Index Ventures.

When combined with earlier financing deals, the total raised is $16.8 million. Existing investors include First Round Capital and several angel investors.

Following the close of the investment, Kittu Kolluri, a partner at NEA, and Neil Rimer, a partner at Index Ventures, will join WeatherBill’s board of directors. The company also announced that Barney Schauble, a partner at Nephila Capital, WeatherBill’s risk capacity partner, will join the board.

WeatherBill is working with a diverse roster of clients in weather-sensitive industries such as agriculture, travel, leisure and retail. Clients include ski resorts, farmers, restaurants, travel service providers, and outdoor sports and leisure event managers.

NEA’s Kolluri observes that ‘there’s high demand for financial protection against unexpected weather’. Says Index’s Rimer: ‘It’s now estimated that nearly one-third of the US economy, that’s $3.8 trillion, is at risk because of climate change.’

The funding will help fuel WeatherBill’s rapidly growing business in the US and Canada, and expand the company’s service to five new European countries this week: the UK, Germany, the Netherlands, Spain and Norway.