Gallagher’s quarterly report on insurtech sector investment always makes interesting reading. The Covid19 vax test operation and consequent economic disruption may well have accelerated the pace of digital transformation across the insurance industry. Hey, maybe that was the point? Increasing emphasis on WFH, verified citizen ID access to services like banking, jobs or housing etc since 2020 has also prompted new tech investment by insurers. By 2030 it’s likely that Net Zero/ID rules will inevitably spread to the insurance sector, car ownership, high net worth/property purchases etc in time as well, which is good news for software specialists, data companies, AI and automation start-ups and many more.
Sunak’s recent statements – and mini conference – on AI suggest that the UK currently has a relaxed attitude to AI regulation, a wait-and-see-approach. But a General Election next year and possible Coalition government might change that trajectory. Much depends on global government agencies attitudes, rather than elected politicians statements to be blunt. But for insurtechs the one certainty is that progress on AI systems will continue at pace, regardless of regulatory arguments.
Here’s the word;
Driven by a 25.5% quarter-on-quarter surge in P&C InsurTech investment, new funding for the global InsurTech sector edged past a billion dollars to USD1.1 billion during the third quarter of 2023, up 19.8%, according to the latest Global InsurTech Report from Gallagher Re, the global reinsurance broker.
The rise occurred even as average deal size fell 16.4% quarter on quarter to a six-year low of USD10.3M, and Life & Health InsurTech investment slipped a further 4.5% quarter-on-quarter to USD166.6M.
BOUNCEBACK ON DEALS
In line with funding, quarterly InsurTech deal count increased from 97 in Q2 to 119 in Q3, the most since Q3 2022 (140). P&C InsurTech saw 90 deals, and Life & Health InsurTech, 29. Additionally, United States-based InsurTechs saw 55.4% of global InsurTech deal share in Q3 2023 — the highest level since Q1 2020.
Early-stage InsurTech funding increased 24.7% quarter on quarter to USD269.45M, as the number of early-stage deals rose from 51 in Q2 to 71 in Q3. Meanwhile, average mid-stage Series B and C funding for the year to date fell to its lowest total since 2014, at USD24M. During the third quarter, companies in this category raised USD323.36M – or 29.5% of total InsurTech funding – across 18 deals in Q3.
At the larger end of the spectrum, two Q3 investments count as mega-rounds. Both the Boston-based homeowners insurance platform Openly and the San Francisco cyber platform Resilience raised USD100M in Series D rounds.
Over the quarter, (re)insurers made 34 InsurTech investments, the majority of which – for the fifth consecutive quarter – were in the early-stage category (61.8%). Q3 saw 10 seed/angel-stage investments and 11 Series A investments by trade players. MassMutual Ventures led the activity with seven investments. Three or more investments each were made by Avanta Ventures (part of CSAA), MS&AD Ventures and Munich Re Ventures.
Dr. Andrew Johnston, Global Head of InsurTech at Gallagher Re, said: “We continue to move through a crucial inflection point of global InsurTech, from phase one, the ‘great experiment’ to phase two focused on sustainable, profitable business outcomes through precision, not volume. The third quarter provided us with some very thought-provoking examples of what this change looks like at an individual company level, for both InsurTechs and investors.
“However, it’s clear painful truths are emerging as a direct result of the lessons not learned during phase one including how capital was raised, from whom, and at what valuations, and how it was managed and spent. With wealthy backers writing enormous checks, InsurTechs could ignore the importance of loss ratios or customer retention. They – and their investors – could instead focus on metrics like growth and divergence and miss the extremely important lessons that ultimately must be learned to survive.
“When learned, companies have been able to transition into InsurTech phase two. Now more than ever, technology and new entrants can play a critical role in preserving and fortifying the value of reinsurance. InsurTechs in phase two can, for example, support better risk selection, portfolio optimization, use of relevant data and engagement with digitally-native consumers.”
Global InsurTech Report
The Q3 edition of Gallagher Re’s Global InsurTech Report is the third of four to explore the lifecycle stages of InsurTech funding. It investigates mid-stage expansion funding rounds (Series B and C), and includes case studies of four InsurTechs that recently completed expansion fundraisings: Boost Insurance, Novidea, YuLife and Zopper.
Other highlights from the report:
- “Thoughts from Investors” is a feature article by Jason Gross, Vice President and Head of Platform at ManchesterStory, on the investment process, growth challenges and the current environment for mid-stage expansion investments.
- “Deal of the Quarter” looks at Lula, a platform for insurance buyers, which handles the insuring process from buying through to claims management.
- “View from the Industry” is contributed by Gallagher’s Data and Analytics Leader Don Price, who writes about AI for the insurance sector. He says: “The exact business value of AI is yet to be determined. Upfront investment will be required to assess its potential, develop pilots and implement solutions. They won’t be a revolutionary solution to all the sector’s problems and pain points, but we see potential for AI to equip our experts with better information to solve customers’ needs.”
- “Ecosystem Partner” profiles Plug and Play, one of the largest insurance innovation platforms.
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