INNOVATORS
10 insurtechs that made waves in 2022
2022 was another huge year for insurtechs, with many raising large sums of capital and launching products with the potential to revolutionise the industry.
Here are 10 that made Intelligent Insurer stand up and take notice in 2022.
1. Instanda
Following Instanda’s latest $45 million fundraising led by Toscafund, the insurtech has secured former Hiscox chief financial officer Liz Prior to grow its geographical presence in Europe, Japan, the United Arab Emirates, and the US.
Instanda describes itself as “the first solution of its kind” to offer a fully customisable SaaS-based policy administration platform that enables insurers to get ahead of the competition with lightning-quick agility.
Founded in 2012 by Derek Hill and Tim Hardcastle, the insurtech has been on a mission to digitise the insurance industry by solving challenges for all insurance providers and enabling them to offer unrivalled customer experience at low cost.
“Instanda describes itself as ‘the first solution of its kind’ to offer a fully customisable SaaS-based policy administration platform.”
2. Cover Genius
Cover Genius, the global insurtech for embedded insurance, announced in November 2022 that it had raised $70 million in Series D funding in a round led by Dawn Capital. The raise will assist in rapid business growth and expansion of its global insurance distribution platform XCover.
The insurtech has deepened its global capabilities by investing in Indian-based insurtech, Ensuredit, and a specialist in ticket refund protection called Booking Protect.
Co-founded in 2014 by CEO Angus McDonald, Cover Genius offers embedded protection to multiple industries.
3. Bright Health
Bright Health, a health insurance startup backed by Tiger Global and Blackstone Group, has unveiled plans for an even greater focus on delivering affordable healthcare to ageing and underserved populations in the US.
The insurtech runs two businesses, NeueHealth and Bright HealthCare, offering virtual and in-person clinical care to patients through affiliated primary care clinics. It also sells Medicare and commercial health insurance across 14 states in the US.
In June 2021, Bright Health raised $924 million in its initial public offering (IPO) in the US, with the IPO valuing the company at $11.23 billion. This valuation comes as more people are seeking remote healthcare, driving up demand in the telemedicine market.
In October 2022, the company said it expects to deliver a $3 billion net revenue balanced business in 2023.
4. CyberCube
The back end of 2022 has been a busy time for CyberCube. In September alone it announced a partnership with data analytics and digital operations firm EXL and launched the beta testing of its cyber risk-focused Exposure Databases.
The insurtech said its Exposure Databases is designed to give the re/insurance industry a unique overview of its exposure to cyber risk. The database has initially focused on the North American market with the next iteration expected to look at Europe.
Chris Methvan, chief growth officer at CyberCube, said: “It allows re/insurers to compare their exposure to different types of catastrophic loss to the wider market so they can calibrate their portfolio.”
In the firm’s partnership with EXL the two companies will jointly develop new cyber insurance solutions for the property and casualty market. Together, they aim to develop “industry-first” solutions that will help insurers rapidly scale their cyber insurance offerings to meet the growing demand.
“Exposure Databases is designed to give the re/insurance industry a unique overview of its exposure to cyber risk.”
5. Covr Financial Technologies
Covr has an embedded insurance platform that has an advisor-facing and direct-to-consumer platform on the same technology stack. It partners with financial brands to provide life insurance solutions to their customers in an efficient, easy way that streamlines the process of selling and buying policies.
In spring 2022, Covr completed a $15 million Series B fundraising round, bagging a new investor in Stone Point Ventures. It maintains strong support from existing investors Sony Innovation Fund by IVG, Aflac Ventures, Allianz Life Ventures, Connecticut Innovations, Fairview Capital, Contour Venture Partners, Commerce Ventures and Tribeca Early Stage Partners.
The insurtech also has partners among some of the largest financial institutions, banks, and wealth management firms in the US.
6. Dacadoo
Swiss health insurtech Dacadoo was founded in 2010 by entrepreneur Peter Ohnemus in Zurich. In March this year the company partnered with global reinsurer Swiss Re to “unlock the next generation of risk assessment” through its MyWellLife offering.
The MyWellLife platform is a mobile-first, digital engagement platform described as a smart health coach that motivates users to achieve and maintain healthy lifestyle habits.
Swiss Re said that the collaboration is timely as digital adoption has been accelerated by COVID-19 at the same time as lifestyle data is increasing in volume, accuracy and reliability.
“Lifestyle factors are gaining in importance because they help to give a more holistic view for risk assessment purposes,” said Jolee Crosby, global head of L&H underwriting at Swiss Re.
7. DGTAL
For an insurtech that launched only last year, Switzerland-headquartered DGTAL has hit the ground running, announcing its European rollout and a new corporate structure in October 2022. DGTAL describes its work as pioneering the full automatisation of claims-handling in Europe using AI and the power of data.
To kickstart the company, its founders pre-invested around €10 million for the development of its landmark products DRILLER and HUSTON. And DGTAL is in advanced discussions with institutional investors for an additional €6 million Series A equity injection.
The insurtech’s expansion is based on the proof-of-concept of DRILLER, an analytics and audit tool which allows insights into claims portfolios and enables insurers to tap into both their structured and unstructured data. From this they can gain clarity on their claims portfolio, forecast adverse developments, and flag critical claims and their cost.
DGTAL was set up by industry veteran and insurance expert Arndt Gossmann, the chief executive officer, along with software company Deon Digital.
“DGTAL is in advanced discussions with institutional investors for an additional €6 million Series A equity injection.”
8. Dynamo
Dynamo has gone from strength to strength with a £100 million expansion plan backed by new investment and a fresh product range, ahead of its move to Cardiff City Centre from Barry in Wales. In October, it won the DIA Diamond award selected by the likes of Munich Re and shortlisted from over 1,200 businesses from more than 50 countries.
The tech-enabled insurance broker, which was founded by former Apprentice candidate Alex Mills in 2017, provides products for motor, home, life, GAP, and student insurance. It works with a range of insurers to get the best deals for clients.
The company has positioned itself as an insurtech platform that allows users to purchase a range of products without paying commission.
“DynaRisk partners with clients such as Ascot, BOXX Insurance, Canopius, Chubb, and Hiscox.”
9. DynaRisk
In June 2022, cyber insurance data and analytics firm DynaRisk closed a seed funding round bringing its first-year funding to over $7 million as it works towards scale in operations across Europe and North America.
The insurtech provides cybersecurity tools to home users and businesses. It was founded in 2016 by chief executive officer Andrew Martin. He spotted a market opportunity to mitigate risk for personal and commercial cyber insurers, reinsurers and managing general agents when he recognised that companies were spending large sums of money protecting their assets but leaving individuals to fend for themselves.
Martin said: “Being able to offer our clients new ways to protect their policyholders in this increasingly fraught cyber landscape is central to our mission.”
DynaRisk partners with clients such as Ascot, BOXX Insurance, Canopius, Chubb, and Hiscox, and to improve loss ratios, engage insureds and streamline renewals.
10. VIU by HUB
HUB International announced the launch of VIU by HUB in June, a new digital platform for “transactional personal insurance needs” such as home and auto. The platform will feature auto and home quotes from more than 25 insurance companies.
Hub says that the platform will allow customers to engage with the company. Aside from receiving quotes, the platform can also combine different policies on one platform regardless of carrier or source.
HUB was developed to help make sure its customers are properly insured—that no one is devastated by an insurable event. It says that it improves the insurance-buying experience for customers by offering choice, convenience, credibility, and neutrality, by leveraging modern digital capabilities.
Images: Shutterstock.com / MAGNIFIER, YanLev
