Singapore-based insurtech startup Surer nabs seed round to bolster its product development

There is an imbalance between demand and supply of general insurance due to the tedious workflow and processes that insurance intermediaries and insurance companies face. 

Singaporean insurtech company Surer, which automates the workflow and processes via a cloud-based platform, helps insurance intermediaries get rapid access to insurance quotations and insurers to distribute their products more efficiently. By digitalizing the insurance work for insurers and intermediaries, its platform enables them to save time, focus on their clients and scale their business.  

Surer was launched in September 2020 by Gordon Tay, Renfred Tay and Derren Teo with a mission to solve the enormous mismatch in demand and supply in a $1.7 trillion general insurance industry. 

The company has raised a $1 million seed round to enhance its platform and scale in Asia. Norwegian investor Kistefos, Markel Digital Investment and an angel investor participated in the latest round. Antler joined in its previous funding. 

In June 2021, Surer added a new feature, the Instant Quote Marketplace, which allows users to get quotations automatically and instantaneously. 

The company is currently operating its service in Singapore, but plans to enter other markets like Malaysia, Hong Kong and Taiwan, Gordon Tay said. 

“We are focusing on building a digital ecosystem that serves for parties creating (the insurers) and distributing (the intermediaries) insurance products, and we run a B2B2C model,” co-founder Gordon Tay said. It is opposed to many other insurtech companies that operate an aggregator model, going direct to the consumer (B2C), he added.  

Surer claims that it has seen strong traction with more than 350 intermediary signups and demo requests. Approximately $1 million in gross written premiums (GWP) was transacted, and the company expects to generate $1.5 million in GWP transactions by the end of this year. 

Asia’s general insurance market is about $564 billion, and Singapore has approximately $2.9 billion, Gordon Tay mentioned. 

Similar models to Surer outside of Southeast Asia include WeFox in Europe and Turtlemint in India, which have proven successful, Gordon Tay noted. 

There are other insurtech players like online brokers — including Singapore’s MoneySmart and PolicyPal, and India’s PolicyBazaar and Indonesia’s PasarPolis, and Malaysia’s PolicyStreet — which are not Surer’s competitors but can be partners. The online brokers create products underwritten by the insurers and then sell them directly to consumers through their online platform. They can list their products on Surer’s platform (the Instant Quote Marketplace) and leverage the Surer intermediary force as an additional distribution channel (in addition to their online channel), Tay explained. 

“Kistefos has a strong investment portfolio in Norway and Europe, including companies delivering financial services. We see huge potential in Asian markets, and Surer has shown the ability to capitalize on the trend of digital transformation in the insurance industry in the region,” Bengt Rem, CEO of Kistefos, said.