One of the continent’s top providers of insurance infrastructure, Curacel, has acquired $3 million in initial capital for the introduction of fresh technological innovations in the next wave of insurance experiences in the continent. Curacel helps insurers confidently automate and resolve more valid claims, with just human involvement needed for quality review.
The top executives from Covergenius, Zopper, and Pie Insurance led the seed funding round. Tencent, AAF Management, Elefund, Blue Point Capital Partners, Pioneer Fund, Olive Tree Capital, Y Combinator, James Park, CEO of Fitbit, Olugbenga ‘GB’ Agboola, CEO of Flutterwave, Babs Ogundeyi, CEO of Kuda, and other strategic investors are among the other participants. Elefund also invested in Sure and Flutterwave.
The company’s entry into North Africa, beginning with Egypt and Morocco, as well as its eventual development into other regions of the continent, will be supported by this round of finance, which will also help it address healthcare issues, notably insurance-related ones. Many African insurers are shielded from further financial loss due to inflated and fictitious claims.
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Since insurance firms are experts in risk management, Curacel believes that this investment will provide a method for people in Africa and beyond to experience products and services in-depth without barriers or apprehension.
Henry Mascot, CEO and co-founder of Curacel added, “We are bullish on the potential of the right technology in the right places to close the protection gap across Africa and emerging markets. It is an exciting time for us as we secure the capital to deliver the vision and onboard the people who have built these technologies at scale in more mature markets, and we are looking forward to delivering more technology solutions to drive up insurance inclusion.”
The insurance technology company aims to use this to offer underwriting and insurance payment services via its APIs. It seeks to keep ahead of the competition by becoming the most well-known insurtech ecosystem through the addition of new products.
How Curacel Came About
Curacel was initially designed to be an electronic health information management platform for healthcare providers. This platform would have allowed clinics to digitize and manage paper records, appointments, patient communications, billing, and reporting through a web app. However, the co-founders soon became aware of a much more significant issue affecting healthcare, particularly concerning insurance.
Although there is a very low level of insurance penetration in Africa, many insurers’ procedures are time-consuming, expensive, and vulnerable to fraud and waste because they employ archaic technology and paper. As a result, African insurers lose billions each year to frivolous, fraudulent, and abusive (FWA) claims, which makes them cautious and risk-averse when interacting with clients. Curacel’s new company was focused on offering technology to help insurers avoid losses while digitizing and resolving more legitimate claims as a result of the pivot.
The Nigerian company, which currently collaborates with more than 20 insurers and more than 5,000 service providers in eight different African nations, has handled claims totaling more than $100 million.
It had a 600% increase in transaction volume and a 500% increase in income. With the help of Curabel’s embedded insurance products, more than 100 banks, fintech, logistics providers, and other tech-enabled businesses, such as ALAT (Nigeria’s first digital bank), Providus, PalmPay, Float, and others, are now able to boost their recurring revenues by providing digital insurance products that are seamlessly integrated into their current products and services, fostering much-needed insurance penetration and client loyalty.
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Progress Made So Far
The Nigerian insurtech company is said to have handled claims totalling more than $100 million since its inception. It collaborates with more than 5,000 service providers across its eight markets. According to a statement from Curacel, the company had a 600% increase in transaction volume and a 500% increase in income last year.
The company makes money by collecting an annual fee for handling claims and detecting fraud. It also establishes premium take rates and levies fees on companies that use its APIs.
Mascot stated that Curacel would be aiming to offer underwriting and insurance payment services via its APIs, even though it focuses on claims and distribution right now. One strategy it plans to use to stay one step ahead of the increasingly ferocious competition in Africa’s insurance landscapes is to diversify its product offering. Similar services are offered by businesses like Lami, financed by Harlem Capital, and Naked, backed by Naspers, to enhance insurance coverage in their particular areas.
With its many APIs, the startup is doing for insurance what Flutterwave, Stitch, and Anchor have done for banking and payments services. To improve inclusiveness and acceptance on the continent, the three-year-old business is unbundling insurance products for several enterprises. Its technology currently focuses on distribution and asserts automation. Without a doubt, the future is bright for Curacel.
