InsurTech in brief #1
3 topics; 3 mins; 3 times-per-week: GoBear or go where? ZhongAn in FinTech x InsurTech. Hide & Seek with Indian InsurTechs.
GoBear
Who? Banking & Insurance PCW (price comparison website) in SE Asia
What’s up? Missing co-founders - Ivonne (CTO) quit with no subsequent role; Marnix (CCO) quit to join Standard Chartered Retail Banking. [1]
Why care? They raised $80M in May [2] Fortunately, they are not going anywhere:
LinkedIn data suggests the staff has plateaued since May ‘19 (as highlighted below); but, they’re still hiring!
ZhongAn
Who? HK-listed InsurTech; previously a JV b/w Ping An, Alibaba & Tencent
What’s up? Received the 4th HK virtual insurance license [3]
Why care? FinTech x InsurTech - ZA Bank is a licensed virtual bank in Hong Kong; they will focus on Life & Critical Illness insurance - smell of bancassurance 2.0 anyone?
PS - OneDegree recently received its virtual insurance license too (they’re pet insurance focused); other virtual insurers are: Bowtie (HK’s Voluntary Health Insurance scheme), Avo Insurance (millenial life insurance) & Blue (car & home; Tencent and HillHouse-owned; Aviva ran away!!)
Hide & seek with Indian InsurTechs: Metamorphosys Tech
Who? Insurance enterprise SaaS; middleware + API layer
What’s up? Raised its pre-Series A [4]
Why care? Founders are ex-Majesco, huge base of SE Asian insurance clients - they’ve been ultra Lean and they’re scaling FAST! Reach out?
That’s all from me folks. Comments, feedback and suggestions are welcome!