UK-based insurtech company Eleos has raised $4 mn in a seed funding round to support its planned expansion into the United States.
Fuel Ventures and Indico Capital led the recent investment, which occurred just six months after the company’s pre-seed round.
The seed round expands on earlier insurtech funding from Fuel Ventures, Founders Factory, Insurtech NY, Magic Fund, and Indico Capital Partners.
Founded in 2022, Eleos quickly became the UK’s sole provider of fully digital life insurance and income protection products. The company projects revenue exceeding £1 mn by the end of 2024.
Eleos addresses two major issues in the insurance industry: effectively communicating the importance of financial protections like income protection and life insurance, and the industry’s difficulty in developing fully digital solutions.
The company employs its proprietary full stack B2B2C solution, including APIs and white-label journeys, to streamline partner integration without additional costs.
This enables Eleos’s partners to access new revenue opportunities, enhance customer retention, and ensure comprehensive regulatory compliance through the company’s FCA authorization. Current partners include credit-building services like Loqbox and CreditLadder, along with flexible loan providers such as CreditSpring and Updraft.
In the UK, life insurance penetration is at 35%, with income protection at a mere 6%. Despite gradual increases in these adoption rates, Eleos strives to accelerate growth by raising awareness and improving access, which is central to its mission.
CEO Kiruba Shankar Eswaran, who previously founded and sold Zaask in Portugal to Worten, has a history of leading successful startups and exits in the UK.
With our new funding we will launch more lines of insurance in the life and disability verticals and strike more distribution partnerships in the UK. Part of the funding is also earmarked to launch operations in the US.
Kiruba Shankar Eswaran, CEO Eleos
Mark Pearson, founder of Fuel Ventures, also commented, saying: “We’ve been looking for a way into the insurtech sector for a long time but to do that we need a team with specialist experience, an understanding of the challenges and access to a substantial market. With Eleos we’ve found all three and we believe their products encapsulate our thinking about the insurance space – giving people easy access on familiar platforms. We’re working together to make our shared vision of the future a reality and that’s why we’ve doubled down on our support for their growth and expansion.”
Eleos is an insurtech company that specializes in fully digital life and income protection insurance. Their primary product, Eleos Income Protection, offers short-term monthly benefits to individuals unable to work due to illness or injury.
The policy can cover up to 70% of pre-incapacity income for up to two years. This is particularly beneficial for the self-employed or those with limited employer-provided income during such periods.
Eleos distinguishes itself by conducting all processes online, from quotes to policy acceptance, providing instant decisions. Their policies are reviewed annually to ensure coverage remains relevant and up-to-date.
Eleos Life Limited arranges these policies, which are underwritten and administered by a UK-registered insurer, ensuring regulatory compliance and financial protection under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
