Asia-Pacific (APAC) has seen the emergence of a dynamic insurtech landscape, fueled by favorable market conditions, low insurance penetration and investors’ bullishness.
Data from S&P Global Market Intelligence show that there are at least 335 private insurtech operating in APAC, with China and India collectively home to nearly half of private insurtech firms in the region.
For this list, we’ve selected seven early-stage insurtech startups which have gained significant traction and which have secured seed funding over the past year.
Cyber Sierra (Singapore)
Founded in June 2021 in Singapore, Cyber Sierra is the developer and provider of cybersecurity tools and insurance services designed to help businesses manage and mitigate cyber risk.
The company delivers cybersecurity and technology insurance offerings to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with presence on the cloud, providing them with up to US$5 million of cyber and technology insurance coverage.
It also offers a risk management platform featuring automated security alerts, threat intelligence, expert guidance and tools, enabling clients to grow their security posture in the face of current cyber threats.
In February 2022, Cyber Sierra raised US$4.3 million in a seed round, which it said it will use to expand its offerings to include more products and broaden its network of startups and SME customers across Southeast Asia and India. It will also hire fresh talents across its business.
Surer (Singapore)
Founded in 2019 in Singapore, Surer is a cloud-based insurtech platform aimed at solving inefficiencies within the insurance industry. Running under a business-to-business-to-consumer (B2B2C) model, the company provides a digital ecosystem that serves multiple parties within the insurance business, enabling intermediaries to close a deal with greater speed and allowing insurers to distribute their product with better efficiency.
An award-winning company, Surer is a winner of the Partners of Fintech award at the Singapore Fintech Festival Global Fintech Awards 2021 and was named one of the top insurance innovators by Insurance Business Asia.
Since the launch of its first version in September 2020, Surer says that it has recorded over 350 intermediary signups and demo requests, more than 1,000 insurance proposals sent and over S$1.2 million in gross written premiums (GWP) transacted on its platform.
In October 2021, Surer raised a US$1 million seed funding round, which it said it will use to bolster its core technology platform and invest in its tech team to deliver on its product roadmap.
YAS MicroInsurance (Hong Kong)
Headquartered in Hong Kong, YAS MicroInsurance is an Asia Pacific (APAC) insurtech company that applies technologies including blockchain, open APIs and artificial intelligence (AI) to create unique on-demand insurance products for the local market.
As a next-generation insurtech startup, YAS has launched several epochal products over the past year, including RYDE with YAS, a microinsurance product that provides in-app on-demand 90-min protection for passengers anytime, anywhere; and BUS RYDE, the world’s first smart transportation card embedded bus passenger protection auto-connecting transport journeys with insurance policies through open APIs.
In August 2021, the company closed an undisclosed pre-Series A funding round led by 500 Startups which it said it will use to further strengthen its core research and development (R&D) and accelerate its expansion in the SEA market.
In addition to its Hong Kong presence, YAS has operations in Vietnam and is now looking to expand across the broader Asian region, including to Malaysia, Vietnam, India and the Greater Bay Area of China.
Medici (Vietnam)
Founded in 2019, Medici strives to make healthcare and insurance more accessible and affordable to the masses in Vietnam.
The company is building a digital-first, holistic healthcare ecosystem enabling affordable access to doctors, healthcare products, and insurance. Medici’s ecosystem includes telemedicine services connecting users to a curated network of in-house and partner doctors, clinics, and hospitals; an online marketplace for supplements powered by partnerships with pharmaceutical companies; and a network of leading companies in Vietnam distributing their services to their employees.
In 2021, Medici ventured into the insurance space, being the first tech startup in the country to secure an insurance broker license from Vietnam’s Ministry of Finance. This has enabled them to offer affordable policies based on the health data from their ecosystem.
In February 2022, Medici raised an undisclosed amount in its pre-Series A co-led by Wavemaker Partners and Jungle Venture. The company said it will use the proceeds to scale up its insurtech footprint, expand its healthcare offering, and hire across different roles in the organization.
GlobalCare (Vietnam)
Founded in 2017, GlobalCare is an insurtech company from Vietnam that provides solutions for the sales and administrative processes for insurance agencies and business partners selling non-life insurance policies.
GlobalCare’s digital platform allows insurance companies and agents to sell policies via a cloud-based and on-premises app that enables end-to-end service management to monitor transaction history and process claims, among other functions. For consumers, the solution provides a convenient access point for their non-life insurance needs.
GlobaCare claims it provides a complete tech solution for more than 10 major insurance distribution channels and 200,000 agents, and says its distributors and agencies include more than 3,000 offline to online stores, as well as one of the top ride sharing platforms.
At present, more than 15 types of insurance products are available on GlobalCare’s platform, including health, business interruption, mobile phone, car and personal accident policies. Its key insurance partners include Bao Viet, PVI, PTI, Pjico, MIC, and Liberty. In September, the company closed an undisclosed round of funding from VinaCapital Ventures.
Aman (Indonesia)
Founded in 2020 in Indonesia, Aman provides an insurtech platform to simplify the employee benefits experience for employers, employees as well as insurers and brokers.
Using the platform, employers can design benefit strategy to drive their talent management and business performance, while removing administrative hassle from employee enrolment to claim management. For employees, Aman allows them to manage their insurance plans through a mobile app. And for insurers and brokers, the platform lets them digitize their business, allowing them to grow new sales, increase customer retention and streamline operational processes.
Just last week, Aman raised a US$1.2 million pre-seed funding round co-led by Trihill Capital and Global Founders Capital, with participation from 1982 Ventures, Alto Partners Multi-Family Office and Atlas Global Kapital.
Oyen (Malaysia)
Headquartered in Kuala Lumpur, Oyen is a digital-first insurance platform for pet owners.
The platform is aimed at giving pet owners greater convenience in managing their pets’ medical needs via seamless insurance purchase and claims experience, covering illness, accidents, surgeries and more, up to MYR 8,000.
The company’s services are integrated with a panel of veterinary clinic partners in Malaysia, making it easier for owners to access Oyen’s network of vets for quality vet services and quickly seeking medical attention for their pets, especially in case of emergencies.
Striving to become the region’s category leader in pet healthcare insurance, Oyen says it is driving towards having 100,000 pets insured in Southeast Asia within the next three years, half of which is expected to come from the company’s first market, Malaysia.
In June 2021, the startup closed a US$420,000 seed funding round, which it said it will use to enhance its digital insurance platform and reinforce its market position within the country’s pet healthcare insurance ecosystem through recruitment, and by expanding its offering with vet medical protection, preventative care, wellness and more.
Featured image credit: Edited from Unsplash