Top 5 Insurtech startups in the UAE
Insurance is an interesting sector. While it is in the business of helping people cover costs in case of unforseen events, it is also a for-profit sector in the finance industry. The government in the UAE have made certain insurance covers compulsory, such as automotive and health.
However, it is in these segments of car and health insurance that insurance providers find it most challenging to turn a profit. One answer to this is the big push to automate processes and take the purchase processes online. This is where many of the insurance technology startups have thrived.
The market for online insurance is growing every year, as people gain more trust in the system. And while many may still call it nascent compared to other markets, there is still a huge potential for them to grow further in the UAE. Let's have a look at five of the top funded insuretech startups below.
1. Aqeed
One of the highest funded InsureTech startups in the UAE, Aqeed raised $18 million in Series A in April 2018; launching soon after.
The one-year old startup aims to make insurance "simple, transparent, and accessible" through its insurance-as-a-service technology platform.
Founded by Hadi Radwan, Aqeed also launched a suite of cloud-based tools last month, called Aqeed Sales and Aqeed Brokers, to help insurance brokers go digital.
With a B2B business model, the startup is introducing innovations such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, business process enhancement and automation to insurance; thereby helping insurance brokers and agents get a better understanding of the differences and details of various insurance products. They're bringing in transparency right from the cruz of the purchase cycle.
2. Yallacompare
A comparison website for financial products, Yallacompare helps people make better financial decisions. It lays out the details of various product categories, from phone plans and flights, to financial products such as credit cards and insurance plans.
Founded by Jon Richards in 2011, Yallacompare has raised $17.4 million in 6 rounds. The latest one was of $8 million, announced in January, qualifying it to be one of the top 10 funding rounds of H1 2019.
“It’s growing, we’ve seen four times as many people buying online last year compared to 2017. It’s a confidence thing, it’s a new industry, before people spend a lot of money, they might want to hear a voice on the phone. We think we’re changing that and it will continue to improve.”Jonathan Rawling, CFO at yallacompare, said to Wamda
3. Souqalmal
Another B2C comparison website for all major financial products, Souqalmal helps people discover everything from insurance products to bank accounts, loans, and credit cards.
Souqalmal was founded in 2012 by Ambareen Musa and currently operates in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the UAE. It has raised $14.5 million over 5 rounds since its inception, according to Crunchbase.
4. Bayzat
Bayzat is a B2B technology company that provides insurance packages as well as HR solutions, such as payroll and policy benefit communications.
It helps HR personelle transparently compare over 100 policies in under 2 minutes, while cutting out 50% of the processing time and saving on costs.
Founded in 2011 by Talal Bayaa, Bayzat has raised $12.6 million over five rounds.
5. Democrance
A social impact company, Democrance was founded in 2015 by Alberto Pérez and Michele Grosso, with an aim to create partnerships that make insurance accessible for those who need it most but can afford it least.
They raised $800,000 in their seed round in 2017.
Essentially, they have automated the entire value chain of insurance purchase and use, which has seen a two-fold benefit. One, it has saved costs for insurers while enabling them to reach a new market segment. Two, it has in turn helped many of those who cannot afford insurance, get good covers.
Many of the above use comparison in one way or another, while differentiating in the market they cater to and the products they help compare. Democrance does stand out in this case, as they have disrupted the space to cater to a large market segment, making an impact both socially and economically.
