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Exploring the nuances of medical underwriting

Top-25 InsurTechs in Asia revealed

By Ridwan Abbas -

Source: Asia Insurance Review | Jun 2021

The top-25 InsurTechs in Asia, based on total funding, sees China and India leading the way. The sector remains a vibrant one with high investor interest as insurers embrace the virtues of technology, with the pandemic helping to accelerate developments.

By Ridwan Abbas

Global InsurTech investments reached another new quarterly high in Q1 this year of $2.55bn, according to data by Willis Towers Watson (WTW). Fundraising activity in the sector has continued to rebound from its brief COVID-19-related slowdown a year ago, a trend which mirrors the insurance industry’s voracious appetite for technology.

In the table that follows, in collaboration with WTW and CB Insights, we list the top-25 InsurTech firms in Asia based on total funding raised thus far.

Not surprisingly, China and India dominate the list owing to their rapidly-growing insurance markets. There are at least 335 private InsurTechs operating in APAC, with China and India collectively home to nearly half of private InsurTech firms in APAC and attracting 78% of InsurTech investments in the region, according to data by S&P Global Market Intelligence.

Other jurisdictions within the top-25-ranked InsurTechs in the region are Hong Kong (three), Singapore (two), Japan (one) and Indonesia (one). In the case of Hong Kong, it has a supportive regulatory environment with the Insurance Authority (IA) putting in place the Fast-Track Authorisation scheme that expedites authorisations to carry out insurance business solely through digital channels.

Companies can also count on an enabling regulatory framework in Singapore which supports InsurTech innovation and adoption. With a dynamic ecosystem that allows AI and data innovation to thrive, Singapore has one of Asia’s biggest concentration of InsurTech start-ups with over 80 companies domiciled in the island state.

The right proposition

One of the common traits of the leading InsurTechs is Asia is a clear value proposition, both to incumbent insurers and potential customers. ZhongAn Insurance for instance, which tops the list, is a Shanghai-based online insurer that can price, quote and issue a digital policy in rapid manner to a market of over 1bn people. Meanwhile, Indonesia’s PasarPolis is a comparison shopping site for insurance products that also offers customised and modular policies that are integrated with partners’ systems.

“The principles for success, while highly contingent on luck and timing, do orbit around a central theme; solving for real problems with demonstrably clear success criteria in the context of matching relevant risks with well-priced capital in as an efficient process as possible,” said Willis Re global head of InsurTech Dr Andrew Johnston.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been both a boost as well as a bane for InsurTech companies. The increased awareness to adopt technology among insurers aids the cause of InsurTechs, allowing some of the companies to raise vast sums of money in recent months while also placing others higher up the priority scale for investors.

“But for the reality of most InsurTechs (some 2,000 other firms), it has not necessarily helped their cause in terms of meeting with the right investors, meeting with the right industry leaders, being able to demonstrate proofs of concept, attending workshops and conferences and so on. In a remote world, you have far fewer fortuitous coincidences, and, at least for the time being, a dulled network effect (i.e., getting in front of the right person can become much trickier),” said Dr Johnston.

Adding to the insurance value chain

However, he added that companies that can show clear added value to incumbents are in a stronger position to leverage on the growing appetite among insurers to expand their digital capabilities.

“Investors and incumbent firms are becoming better at knowing what they want from InsurTechs, and this focus is good news for those InsurTechs who have a very clear value proposition, but not necessarily so for those newer firms who are still figuring that out.”

A recent report by S&P Global Market Intelligence showed that investors are mostly backing InsurTechs that drive business to existing carriers. Tech vendors streamlining existing carriers’ back-office operations are the second largest in number, although they accounted for a small percentage of the total amount raised.

“Regulatory restrictions on the issuance of carrier licenses in the APAC region will limit growth in the number of tech companies seeking to both underwrite and sell policies. But the small number of existing digital carriers will see a growing share of the aggregate amount raised by InsurTechs, thanks to their high capital needs. We believe digital carriers that embrace both offline and online distribution channels will see faster growth,” said S&P.

More collaborations expected

Unlike the US where private equity capital is skewed towards full-stack companies looking to disrupt incumbents the trend to collaborate with, rather than rival, traditional insurers is well-established in APAC. In fact, the majority of InsurTechs in the region have business models which are predicated on collaboration with insurers.

On the part of insurers, many tend to feel believe that partnering is more cost-efficient than building internally. For instance, in Australia, 80% of insurers are collaborating with an InsurTech with 11% at the strategic investment phase, according to a survey by EY.

But for the most part, partnership only occurs on a limited scale. The EY survey revealed that despite considerable progress over the last three years, the industry has yet to maximise value creation at scale across all elements of the value chain. When respondents were asked to think back over the last three years, they felt value creation had been most evident in claims, where more than a third said this was fully realised or close to fully realised, said EY.

Partnering into the future

But what is certain is that alliances between incumbents and InsurTechs will grow in volume and scope in the coming years, as insurers look to accelerate their digitalisation journey.

Respondents to the EY survey feel strongly that value realisation will be higher over the next three years than the last three and would take place right across the value chain. Aside from claims, two other areas where increased value is expected to be created are in pricing and underwriting agility as well as efficient administration with insurers looking to move away from paper-based procedures.

Despite the pandemic, US-based InsurTech Lemonade recorded the best-performing IPO offering by a US company when it listed in June last year. Clearly there is a lot of investor interest in InsurTechs right now and with Asia being the growth engine of the insurance sector, expect to see more InsurTech unicorns to emerge within the region to complement the likes of ZhongAn and PolicyBazaar.

“Asia is positioned very well to oversee the creation of new unicorns if the right kind of investment capital and growth projections can be attributed to InsurTechs which are set to deliver perceived value to a large client base, or have huge transformative technological impacts for the incumbent marketplace,” said Dr Johnston. A

**Top-25 InsurTechs in Asia (as of 1Q2021)**
Companies	Description	Country /Industry	Year founded	Total funding ($ in millions)	All people	All investors
ZhongAn Insurance zhongan.com	ZhongAn Insurance (HKG: 6060) is a Shanghai-based Internet insurance company.	China eCommerce		931	Yaping Ou, Xing Jiang, Hugo Ou, Ti Wu	Morgan Stanley, CDH Investments, China International Capital Corporation, Keywise Capital, SAIF Partners China, Theorem Capital, Tencent Holdings, Alibaba Group, Ping An Insurance
PolicyBazaar policybazaar.com	PolicyBazaar helps users compare financial products like life and general insurance, loans, and credit cards. To enable easy and sensible comparison, the company has partnered with financial institutions disbursing loans and selling insurance in India. PolicyBazaar helps users get free insurance quotes, and users can compare plans based on multiple features.	India eCommerce	2008	633.78	Yashish Dahiya, Sharat Dhall	Intel Capital, Info Edge, Inventus Capital Partners, Tiger Global Management, ABG Capital, PremjiInvest, Ribbit Capital, Steadview Capital, MakeSense Technologies, Chiratae Ventures, Wellington Management, True North, SoftBank Group, Tencent Holdings, White Oak Commercial, IIFL Wealth Management, Bay Capital, Cyrus Poonawalla Group, Falcon Edge Capital, Serum Institute of India, Ashoka India Equity Investment Trust, Triumph Global
Waterdrop waterdrop-inc.com	Through its medical crowdfunding, insurance marketplace, and healthcare, Waterdop has built a massive social network of protection and support for people, raising awareness of insurance and ultimately providing insurance and healthcare service to consumers in China.	China eCommerce	2016	630.25	Yao Hu, Lai Wang, Peng Shen	Tencent Holdings, IDG Capital, ZhenFund, Gaorong Capital, Meituan Dianping, Chuxin Capital Partners, BlueRun Ventures, Si novation Ventures, Cosun Venture Capital, Yuri Milner, Boyu Capital, China Capital Investment Group, Swiss Reinsurance Company, DianLiang Capitals
CarDekho cardekho.com	CarDekho is an Indian auto portal that helps its users with car research, finance, insurance, used cars and any other aspect of car buying and selling. The company has tie-ups with many auto manufacturers, car dealers and numerous financial institutions to facilitate the purchase of vehicles.	India eCommerce	2008	286.1	Umesh Hora, Abhishek Gautam, Naveen Gulati, Charu Kishnani	Sequoia Capital India, Hillhouse Capital Management, Tybourne Capital Management, Ratan Tata, HDFC Bank, Times Internet, capitalG, Sequoia Capital, Trifecta Capital Advisors, Axis Bank, RNT Associates, Aquila, KMK Online, Ping An Ventures, Sunley House Capital Management, Lenarco
Singapore Life singlife.com	Singapore Life is a life insurance company fully licensed by the Monetary Authority of Singapore. Singapore Life offers high net worth universal life solutions for those that prefer Singapore and the Singapore regulatory environment as a destination for their wealth and protection needs.	Singapore Insurance	2014	232.3	Walter de Oude, Varsha Bipinchandra, Ian Parker, Thomas Vonrueti	Chong Sing Holdings FinTech Group, IPGL, Michael Spencer, Aflac, Aberdeen Standard Investments, Standard Life Aberdeen, Ion Pacific, Sumitomo Life, Aviva - Singapore
Digit Insurance godigit.com	Digit Insurance is a tech-driven insurance startup based in Bengaluru, India. The company seeks to build simple and transparent solutions, focusing on car, travel, mobile, jewelry, and bicycle insurance.	India Insurance	2016	207.49	Sandeep Malik, Ravi Khetan, Parimal Heda	Fairfax Financial Holdings, TVS Capital, Faering Capital, A91 Partners, Virat Kohli, Anushka Sharma, Cornerstone
Acko General Insurance acko.com	Acko General Insurance is a digital insurance company that provides a variety of insurance policies ranging from car insurance to two-wheeler insurance (scooters, motorcycles) to mobile phone insurance to Ola Insurance. Ola Insurance is passenger insurance for Ola’s ride-hailing service and covers items like minor accidents involving riders as well as insurance against missing flights due to traffic delays. The insurance claim system is built into the Ola app, per Acko, to simplify the process for users.	India Insurance	2016	203	Varun Dua, Anik Chhabria	Accel, Elevation Capital, Catamaran Ventures, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Atul Nishar, Subba Rao Telidevara, Venk Krishnan, Hemendra Kothari, Rajeev Gupta, SAIF Partners, Amazon, Ashish Dhawan, Binny Bansal, Intact Ventures, RPS Ventures, Techpro Ventures, Ascent Capital, Munich Re Ventures
BankBazaar bankbazaar.com	BankBazaar is a neutral online marketplace that gives users instant customized rate quotes on loans and insurance products. Users can instantly search for, compare and apply for loans, credit cards and insurance products on the site.	India Internet Software & Services	2008	118.79	Vikash Choubey	Walden International, Sequoia Capital India, Amazon, Mousse Partners, Eight Roads Ventures, Experian Ventures, Sequoia Capital, Walden Venture Capital, SK telecom Ventures
CompareAsiaGroup compareasiagroup.com	CompareAsiaGroup is a comparison platform in Asia, committed to finding consumers the right financial products, helping save time and money. The company helps consumers save time and money by offering a free and easy online market comparison of banking and insurance products, as well as broadband and mobile plans etc. Providers benefit from lower cost of acquisitions, higher conversion rates and unlimited reach to consumers through the internet. Under the CompareAsiaGroup umbrella are several brands each localized for their respective markets: MoneyHero in Hong Kong and Vietnam, CompareHero in Malaysia, Money101 in Taiwan, MoneyGuru in Thailand, SingSaver in Singapore, MoneyMax in the Philippines, and HaloMoney in Indonesia.	Hong Kong Internet Software & Services	2014	110		Mark Pincus, Owen Van Natta, ACE & Company, Route 66 Ventures, Jardine Matheson, Nova Founders Capital, GS Growth, International Finance Corporation, H&Q Asia Pacific, Experian, SBI Group, Alibaba Group, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, Gobi Partners, Experian Ventures
*GoBear gobear.com	GoBear is a financial products comparison site. Users can search, compare, and select the plan, card, or loan they want.On April 8th, 2021, GoBear was acquired by Finder. The terms of the transaction were not disclosed. *GoBear closed its business in Jan 2021	Singapore eCommerce	2014	97	Adrian Chng, Kent Huang, Nelius Strydom, Chanel Lim	Bank Negara Malaysia, Walvis Participaties, Aegon, Finder
Chechechexian chechegroup.com	Cheche Technology is a digital insurance distribution and services platform in China. The firm equips online and offline distribution partners (B2B2C) with tech platforms, apps and sales capabilities to reach customers with insurance needs as well as serving them (B2C) directly. Cheche currently offers auto, other P&C, life and health products.	China eCommerce	2014	86.78		Zhongjin Huicai Investment Management, Ruiyuan Capital, China Broadband Capital, Shunwei Capital Partners, China Huarong Asset Management, China Capital Group, Fanhua, China Minsheng Trust
Ins110.com ins110.com	Ins110.com provides travel insurance products via its online platforms. It has partnerships with major Chinese online travel service providers including Tuniu Corp and Qunar.com.	China eCommerce		84	Ningfeng Xia, Zhuanghong Yu	Leading Capital
Lima Technology lmark.net	Lima Technology provides SaaS solutions for small and medium-sized insurance brokerage companies.	China Internet Software & Services		80.55		GGV Capital, Cherubic Ventures, Danhua Capital, Funcity Capital, Hillhouse Capital Management, Unicorn Capital Partners
SmartHR smarthr.jp	SmartHR is a crowdsourced personnel management platform. The company automates procedures related to social insurance and unemployment insurance. It was developed to free up managers or human resources representatives from tiresome and time-consuming personnel management.	Japan Internet Software & Services	2013	79.79	Shoji Miyata	DG Ventures, East Ventures, BEENEXT, 500 Startups, World Innovation Lab, Kotaro Chiba, Yu Akasaka, Jun Nishikawa, Tokio Marine Holdings, NISSEN, Light Street Capital, Signifiant, Coral Capital, ALL STAR SAAS FUND, Shoko Chukin Bank
Turtlemint turtlemint.com	Turtlemint is an online insurance seller that offers motorcycle insurance from various providers, allowing users to compare different plans.	India eCommerce	2015	77	Dhirendra Mahyavanshi, Anand Prabhudesai, Badri Sanjeevi, Prajakt Deolasee, Saunak Ghosh	Nexus Venture Partners, Blume Ventures, Sequoia Capital India, GGV Capital, Dream Incubator, American Family Ventures, Trifecta Capital, MassMutual Ventures, SIG Capital, Jungle Ventures
LIANREN Digital Health lrhealth.com	LIANREN Digital Health is a big data company based in China that focuses on healthcare data for the insurance, pharmaceutical, clinical, and other industries.	China Internet Software & Services	2019	71.07		China Pacific Insurance, China Mobile Industry Innovation Fund
Nanyan Information nanyangroup.com	Nanyan Information is a Shanghai-based online insurance service company that operates 618 insurance platform, a platform that offers cloud architecture, cloud storage, and cloud computing solutions for insurance companies.	China Internet Software & Services	2015	68.37	Xun Gong	BlueRun Ventures, SIG Asia Investments, Starr Companies, BOC International, Cenova Ventures
Prenetics prenetics.com	Prenetics is a genetic testing/digital health company in Southeast Asia. With a simple saliva sample, individuals can discover how their genes affect their diet, drug response, disease and cancer risk.	Hong Kong Medical Facilities & Services	2014	67.65	Avi Lasarow, Stephen Lo	500 Startups, Coent Venture Partners, SXE Ventures, Joel Neoh, Venturra Capital, Ping An Ventures, Capital Union Investments Hong Kong, Alibaba Entrepreneurs Fund, eGarden Ventures, Yuantai Investment Partners, mFund, Beyond Ventures, Entrepreneurs Fund, Apis Partners
PasarPolis pasarpolis.io	PasarPolis is a comparison shopping site for insurance products.	Indonesia eCommerce	2015	67	Cleosent Randing, Michael Saputra	BEENEXT, Gojek, Traveloka, Tokopedia, East Ventures, SBI Investment, LeapFrog Investments, Xiaomi, Alpha JWC Ventures, Intudo Ventures, Go-Ventures, International Finance Corporation
CXA Group cxagroup.com	CXA offers a self-service platform that allows employers to give their employees access to a range of health, wealth and wellness offerings, personalized based on the individual’s health and life-stage data. Employees can purchase offerings by drawing down on existing insurance policies provided by their employers and using funds that are then released into the platform’s eWallet to make transactions cashless, fast and easy.	Singapore Internet Software & Services	2013	58	Dinah Dong	BioVeda Capital, F&H Fund Management, OpenSpace Ventures, Philips, EDBI, B Capital Group, RGAx, SingTel Innov8, Sumitomo Corporation Equity Asia, HSBC Venture Capital, Telkom Indonesia, MDI Ventures, Heritas Capital, Fuchsia Venture Capital, Humanica
Coverfox coverfox.com	Coverfox provides a smarter way for people to buy and manage their insurance. It offers products online for Indian customers across categories like Health, Car, Life, Travel, and Home Insurance, featuring top insurance brands in India.	India eCommerce		49.49	Devendra Rane, Manish Sultania	Accel, Elevation Capital, Catamaran Ventures, InnoVen Capital, Transamerica, Aegon, International Finance Corporation
Xishan Information Technology datebao.com	Xishan Information Technology operates Datebao.com, a discount insurance e-tailer, providing high value insurance products.	China eCommerce		49	Hongxiang Lin, Yi Wang	Ceyuan Ventures, Fosun Kunzhong Capital, Ping An Ventures, China Development Bank Capital, Fosun RZ Capital
Insgeek insgeek.com	Insgeek is an online insurance platform focused on SMEs.	China Internet Software & Services	2014	47.41	Bin Ren, Shuo Li, Xiaoyang Xian	Fosun Kunzhong Capital, Legend Star, Bosi Investment, THG Ventures, TusStar, Legend Holdings, Guozhong Venture Capital Management, SIG Asia Investments, Huasheng Capital, Hecai Fund
Huize Insurance huize.com	Huize Insurance (NASDAQ: HUIZ) is an online insurance agency platform in China. The Company’s platform connects an internal system of more than sixty insurance companies, allowing consumers to compare and purchase more than 700 insurance products according to their risk preferences.	China eCommerce		46	Cunjun Ma, Tracey Chow, Li Jiang	SAIF Partners China, CDF-Capital, TopoScend Capital, Wan Rong Capital, Lakala Koala Fund, Fortune Capital
OneDegree onedegree.hk	OneDegree is a digital insurance platform which enables consumers to purchase and manage their insurance policies. Its back-end enables advanced analytics and automation of traditionally manual process across claims processing, policy management, and customer service.	Hong Kong Internet Software & Services	2016	42.7	Alvin Kwock, Alex Leung, Arthur Lee	Cyberport, Cathay Venture, BitRock Capital

Source: Willis Towers Watson/CB Insights

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Nov 2024

Exploring the nuances of medical underwriting

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Nov 2024

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Exploring the nuances of medical underwriting

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InsurTech

Top-25 InsurTechs in Asia revealed

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