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UK-headquartered start-up Inzura has raised $1 million (around £705,000) in its first major funding round.
The digital insurance platform will use the funds to accelerate new technology developments, as well as enhance delivery and support capacity worldwide. Inzura is beefing up its team not only in the UK but also in Singapore and Thailand to offer in-timezone operations and support.
As for the technology aspect, developments include machine learning and artificial intelligence aimed at delivering insight into customer behaviour and insurance needs; dynamic pricing in order for insurance products to adapt quickly to real-time data; and on-demand features to allow new business models. In addition, the insurtech will streamline customer acquisition and retention by integrating Blockchain.
“Our strategy is to help insurers engage with their customers via access to rich data from smartphones,” explained Inzura chief executive and co-founder Richard Jelbert. “The next step is to use this rich data to deliver enhanced, personalised insurance services.
“Customer demands are evolving rapidly, and our technology allows insurance providers to keep pace with that change, without having to rip out all legacy systems.”
Lead investor Julian Edwards, chief executive of MCE Insurance, said he immediately recognised how the start-up is transforming insurance distribution, customer engagement, and data analytics. For him, investing in Inzura is a unique opportunity to support and work with what he described as “the most exciting insurtech today.”
Among Inzura’s other investors are Autoline Insurance Group managing director Michael Blaney, ABC Investors partner and former LV Broker MD Phil Bunker, former director of Budget Insurance Group and Highway Insurance Group Paul Cosh, and Singapore-based investor Hauw-Quek Soo Hoon.
“We’re hugely excited about fundamentally changing the way the insurance industry works,” said co-founder Ian McWilliams. “Inzura has created a strong international presence, especially in the Asian market, and major insurers in the region as well as global insurance firms are selecting us to drive their digital strategies.”
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