Insurtech Igloo has raised $36 mn pre-Series C funding round led by global investment firm Eurazeo, with participation from Openspace Ventures and existing investor La Maison.
The latest round was closed at a 50% valuation increase from its Series B+ round in 2022, which was led by BlueOrchard-managed InsuResilience Investment Fund II. The insurtech company has raised US$100 mn since its inception.
Cathay Innovation led Igloo’s initial Series B round in March, providing the Singapore-based insurtech with $19 mn in capital. But now the company has raised another $27 mn led by investors including BlueOrchard’s InsuResilience Investment Fund II, WWB Capital Partners and Finnfund. Previous backers La Maison and Cathay Innovation are also returning this time round.
The new capital will be used for horizontal and vertical M&A opportunities. It will also increase its workforce by 20% across engineering, commercial, strategy and insurance-focused verticals.
Additionally, Igloo looks to double down on motor, health, climate-related products, underwriting and claims digitisation and AI and blockchain technologies.
Incorporated in 2016 by Wei Zhu (ex-CTO of Grab), Igloo leverages big data, real-time risk assessment, and automated claims management to create B2B2C insurance solutions for platforms and insurance companies.
It primarily targets the gig economy by providing “comprehensive and competitively-priced” insurance for delivery riders through its Foodpanda partnerships in Thailand, Singapore, and the Philippines, as well as Lozi and Ahamove in Vietnam.
The insurance market in Southeast Asia is still very underpenetrated, and we believe Igloo is in a strong position to help solve this by making insurance more easily accessible and understandable for consumers
Albert Shyy, Managing Director, Eurazeo
Igloo claims to have facilitated over 500 mn policies and aims to double its Gross Written Premium (GWP). As of today, it has also established over 75 partnerships across six countries, expanding its product offerings to cover consumer finance, e-commerce, and logistics. The company is set to be profitable in 2024, it said in a statement.
According to Singapore-headquartered insurtech, in 2022, it launched Ignite by Igloo, a digital platform that enhances the productivity of sales intermediaries in Vietnam and Indonesia. It works with 22,000 sales intermediaries and agent partners and aims to close 2023 with 50,000 agents as it expands into other markets.
The company has rolled out a blockchain-based parametric farmer insurance. The Weather Index Insurance has drawn interest from partners in Vietnam and across Southeast Asia. Thousands of farmers have adopted this product since its launch in November 2022. It covers 20,000 hectares of coffee and padi farms.
by Peter Sonner
