Top Insurtech Companies in the UK | 2022
Will Davis, 13 October 2022
The United Kingdom is home to some of the top insurtech companies in the world—four UK insurtech startups (Zego, ManyPets, Marshmallow and Tractable) even secured unicorn status last year, with valuations of over $1b. Our data also shows that insurtech is one of the fastest-growing startup sectors in the country.
Between 2012 and H1 2022, UK insurtech companies secured £1.56b worth of equity investment, across 235 announced funding rounds. Equity deal numbers and amount raised by the sector peaked during COVID-19, as demand increased for remote insurance options during lockdown—with 52 fundraisings announced in 2021, worth £702m (versus just one £4.61m round in 2013).
Here, we explore the insurtech ecosystem in more detail, and profile the UK’s top 15 insurtech companies. Read on to find out who they are and how much equity investment they’ve raised to date.
What is insurtech?
Insurtech refers to the use of technology to disrupt the traditional insurance sector. Insurance technology companies can be broadly categorised into the following categories, based on the solutions they provide:
Direct insurers
These types of insurtech companies aim to offer more competitive insurance packages than traditional insurers, with lower premiums and more flexible policies. They may apply data analytics, automation or internet-of-things (IoT) technology, often operating through mobile apps and digital platforms. Examples include car insurance provider Cuvva and US home insurance provider Lemonade.
Online marketplaces
There are also several online insurance platforms that offer price comparisons between insurers, many of which allow users to purchase a variety of insurance products in one place. Some online marketplaces also offer peer-to-peer (P2P) insurance, helping individuals to combine their premiums to better insure against risk.
Insurance management
Some insurtech companies, such as Brolly, instead focus on insurance management software. These insurtech platforms and mobile apps allow users to manage their insurance policies and perform any administrative tasks online, often providing helpful tips and insights.
Technology providers
Insurtech also includes many innovative companies that provide tools to improve value chains within traditional business and financial services, including in the insurance industry. These often take the form of software-as-a-service (SaaS) solutions or API integrations, for instance CoVi Analytics and Kasko.
Who are the UK’s top insurtech companies?
According to a recent study, UK-based insurtech startups account for 23% of the European market. We currently track 175 insurtech companies in the UK that have hit one or more of our high-growth tracking triggers.
Below, we’ve profiled the UK’s top 15 private insurtech companies, based on their equity fundraising totals so far. Perhaps unsurprisingly, these fast-growing businesses are all headquartered in London (and many are also included in our ranking of the UK’s top tech startups).
01.
ManyPets
Amount raised: £357m
Topping our list of top insurtech companies is ManyPets. Founded in 2011, the Camden-based company provides pet insurance policies, including insurance coverage for pre-existing conditions. Previously named Bought by Many, the company recently underwent a rebrand and renaming in April 2022. Globally, ManyPets now insures around half a million pets.
ManyPets has secured an impressive £357m in equity investment so far, across eight funding rounds. Its latest deal, in June 2021, raised £246m from Octopus Ventures, EQT Growth, Munich Re Ventures, and other undisclosed investors. Completed at a post-money valuation of £1.39b, the fundraising saw ManyPets join the herd of UK unicorns. And six months later, the insurtech startup acquired pet health e-commerce company Vetbox.
02.
Zego
Amount raised: £227m
Fellow insurtech unicorn Zego provides pay-as-you-go insurance for couriers, food delivery drivers and fleet managers. Zego uses data analytics to evaluate pricing levels and ensure premiums are offered at the right rates. Founded in 2016, the company has insured over 200k vehicles already, for thousands of businesses, and operates in nine countries. Zego also has partnerships with companies such as Uber, Bolt and FreeNow.
Backed by investors including Balderton Capital and LocalGlobe, Zego has raised £227m in equity investment already, across nine funding rounds. It also acquired Portuguese firm Drivit back in 2020, and has attended three accelerator programmes: Upscale, Future Fifty and the Mayor’s International Business Programme. Most recently, Zego featured on the FT1000, as one of Europe’s fastest-growing companies in 2022.
03.
YuLife
Amount raised: £164m
Founded in 2016, Islington-based insurtech company YuLife provides life insurance products via its online software platform. Policyholders can earn rewards via YuLife’s SaaS insurance platform, with a focus on holistic wellbeing practices, such as meditation.
YuLife has raised £164m worth of equity investment to date, across four funding rounds. Investors include Anthemis, Creandum, Eurazeo, LocalGlobe, MMC Ventures and Notion Capital. The company has also attended both the Mayor’s International Business Programme and Upscale accelerators, and been featured on high-growth lists like the InsurTech Impact 25 and Startups 100.
04.
Marshmallow
Amount raised: £90.1m
Car insurance provider Marshmallow uses big data and artificial intelligence (AI) technology to offer competitive rates to younger drivers and those with low credit scores. Founded in 2016, the insurtech company quadrupled its customer base to more than 50k last year. And according to its LinkedIn page, Marshmallow’s employee count has more than doubled since the start of 2022.
Marshmallow reached unicorn status in September 2021, having secured a £61.7m equity investment from funds including Investec and Passion Capital, at a post-money valuation of £742m. That same year, it attended the Future Fifty accelerator, and featured in both the Lazard T100 European Venture Growth Index and BusinessCloud’s InsurTech 50 ranking. In total, Marshmallow has raised £90.1m of equity funding, across five rounds.
05.
BIMA
Amount raised: £87.1m
BIMA provides insurance and healthcare access via its smartphone mobile app. It aims to help underserved families in emerging market countries to obtain affordable health insurance and mobile health services. The healthtech company provides a range of products, including microinsurance, mobile insurance and insurance administration, designed for users who are unfamiliar with traditional insurance processes.
Founded in 2010, BIMA has raised £87.1m in equity investment so far, across six funding rounds. The latest of these was a £22.6m round, in September 2020, with LeapFrog Investments, Allianz X and CEFIF (CreditEase Fintech Investment Fund). BIMA plans to use this recent fundraising to double-down on its service accessibility. The Camden-based insurtech company has also featured twice on the INSURTECH100 high-growth list.
06.
Tractable
Amount raised: £83.4m
Tractable develops internet of things (IoT) software, powered by AI automation, to analyse photos of car accidents and natural disasters for repair cost estimations. By increasing the speed and accuracy of damage assessments, Tractable aims to fast-track the rebuilding and claims process.
The insurtech company graduated from Entrepreneur First in 2015, receiving its first £10k equity investment from the accelerator programme in December 2014. Since then, Tractable has gone on to raise four further funding rounds, from the likes of Acequia Capital, Georgian Partners and New York-based VC fund Insight Partners. In total, it has secured £83.4m of equity investment to date, to fund further R&D and the company’s ambitious expansion plans.
07.
INSTANDA (F2X Group)
Amount raised: £63.1m
F2X Group provides consultancy services for small businesses, to help improve their operations and incorporate technology into their business processes. F2X Group also develops the insurtech software platform INSTANDA, which allows insurers to build and manage digital insurance products.
Founded in 2004, the insurtech company has raised £63.1m in equity investment so far, across six funding rounds. Its latest £36.7m raise, in June 2022, will be put towards increasing INSTANDA’s market presence in Europe, Japan, the UAE and USA. The startup also recently attended the Mayor’s International Business Programme accelerator, and has appeared on high-growth lists including the INSURTECH100.
08.
CFC Underwriting
Amount raised: £46.3m
CFC Underwriting sells insurance policies that specialise in cyber risk, using data science and technology to assess and anticipate risks for clients. The insurtech company helps businesses in the technology and business sectors, providing coverage for a wide range of emerging digital security risks.
Over the past decade, CFC has raised more than £46.3m in equity investment, across nine funding rounds. Founded in 1997, it underwent management buyouts (MBOs) in both 2012 and 2017. CFC has also acquired three other businesses in the digital security space: US firm Solis Security in 2019, London-based ThreatInformer in 2020, and Australian insurance company Insane Technologies in 2021.
09.
Insurami
Amount raised: £43.1m
Insurami provides a deposit guarantee insurance service for commercial leasing, where tenants pay a monthly fee rather than a large upfront cost. The insurtech startup’s digital platform enables landlords to rent office space with the same protection as traditional deposits, without having to keep tenant funds on hand.
Since its founding in 2018, Insurami has raised £43.1m in equity investment, across two funding rounds. Investors include Entrepreneur First, Fasanara Capital, American VC fund Clocktower Ventures, and German fund Global Founders Capital. The insurtech company attended Entrepreneur Accelerator in 2018, and was also awarded a grant from the programme.
10.
Hokodo
Amount raised: £43.0m
Hokodo offers a buy-now-pay-later (BNPL) solution for business-to-business (B2B) transactions. The fintech company develops APIs that enable B2B marketplaces to integrate insurance and financial products into their systems. It attended the Mayor’s International Business Programme in 2019 and featured on both the InsurTech Impact 25 and INSURTECH100 that same year.
Founded in 2018, the Hackney-based startup has already raised an impressive £43.0m in equity investment, across three funding rounds. Hokodo’s investors include Anthemis, Notion Capital, Mosaic Ventures and Mundi Ventures, among others. Its latest raise, in June 2022, will be used to increase the company’s market share across the payments industry and to develop new BNPL solutions for telesales and in-store sales.
11.
Concirrus
Amount raised: £38.1m
Concirrus is a software development company that uses real-time behavioural data, artificial intelligence and machine learning to analyse datasets and provide risk assessments for insurance providers. Its core product, Quest, helps insurers in the marine and auto insurance markets to assess risk, reduce loss, and provide better services.
Founded in 2011, Concirrus has raised £38.1m in equity investment so far, across seven funding rounds. On top of this, it’s also been awarded £596k of grant funding, as part of Innovate UK and Horizon 2020 projects. In November 2021, Concirrus also acquired US-based insurance company Spark Insights, as part of its intention to expand internationally.
12.
Cytora
Amount raised: £36.8m
Cytora develops an API and analytics platform for commercial insurance and underwriting. Its platform crawls the web for information, collating data to build risk profiles for different insurance sectors and locations. Using machine learning and AI, Cytora analyses global risks such as war, natural disasters, terrorism and social unrest.
The insurtech company was spun-out of the University of Cambridge in 2015, and has attended numerous accelerator programmes since then, including Accelerate, Fintech Innovation Lab London and MassChallenge UK. It has received £20k worth of innovation grants from Accelerate Cambridge and Innovate UK, alongside £36.8m in equity investment, in six fundraisings.
13.
axitech
Amount raised: £33.2m
axitech develops accident detection software for motor incidents. It assists customers in placing breakdown and emergency calls through cloud-based collision detection algorithms, and its mobile app, Crash Advisor, helps drivers submit their first notice of loss reports more quickly and efficiently. The insurtech startup also enables firms, auto software providers and original equipment manufacturers to boost client satisfaction and loyalty while streamlining claims processing tasks.
While headquartered in the City of London, axitech has an additional base in Leeds. Since its founding in 2004, the company has raised £33.2m in equity investment, across six funding rounds. Its only known investor is Balderton Capital, who invested £30.0m in April 2010, in axitech’s first ever fundraising.
14.
PremFina
Amount raised: £27.2m
PremFina develops a digital platform specifically for insurance brokers. The insurtech software enables brokers to manage their daily tasks, renewals and new clients, and allows them to manage customer relationships by monitoring the information shared with them. PremFina has featured twice in the INSURETECH100 high-growth list, in 2019 and 2020, and has also attended the Microsoft for Startups accelerator programme.
Founded in 2010, the Lambeth-based insurtech company has raised £27.2m in equity investment, in a single equity and loan round. Investors included Emery Capital, Molten Ventures, Rakuten, Rubicon Venture Capital, Thomvest Ventures and Talis Capital. The fundraising, completed in October 2017, was intended to help PremFina develop its software and further internationalisation.
15.
Acturis
Amount raised: £26.0m
Acturis has created an administration, distribution and underwriting platform for insurance brokers and underwriters. The insurtech company intends to streamline business insurance distribution through its SaaS platform, which provides users with a broker trading system, wholesale and underwriting module, data mining, and reporting solutions.
Since its founding in 2000, Camden-based Acturis has attended the Future Fifty accelerator and been featured in numerous high-growth lists. It has raised £26.0m in equity investment in total, across five funding rounds. The company’s backers include Summit Partners and Nedcor.
Alongside these fundraisings, Acturis has also made four acquisitions in order to expand into global markets, starting with Danish company Nordic Insurance Services back in 2014—the next year, it acquired German insurtech startup AssFiNET, followed by Zycomp Systems and Add Value Assurances in 2019.
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