Gigacover, the Singapore-headquartered insurtech startup that partners Gojek, has secured an undisclosed amount of seed funding to boost them in the flexible insurance market.
This backing comes from seasoned Silicon Valley and Southeast Asia fintech investors including Vectr Fintech Partners, Quest Venture Partners and Alto Partners.
The 2-year-old insurtech firm plans to use the funds to strengthen their position in Singapore, and expand to take on a US$9 billion growth opportunity in Southeast Asia markets.
Their focus on flexible insurance coverage is targeted at “underserved and growing economies” where the gig economy is particularly prominent.
Said Mark Munoz of Vectr Fintech Partners: “In Southeast Asia, 60% of employment is in informal employment and growing. The gig economy has governments and companies rethinking pay structures, health insurance and other incentives for their people.”
“Given the trend, we believe Gigacover bridges the gaps that currently exist in freelance worker protection,” he added.
Covering The Gig Economy
Before starting Gigacover in 2017, co-founders Chua Cheng Xun and Amerson Lin knew that a big trend was coming up in the way people work.
As there are already plenty today, they’re sure the future will see many more freelancers, gig workers, and self-employed individuals continue to rise in numbers.
“[We have met many of them] through our own personal interactions [and] found that they were lacking insurance and financial services,” Amerson shared with Vulcan Post.
In informal employment situations, workers have less access to protection from corporate insurance, or may require specialised coverage for a complex and constantly changing range of needs.
Gigacover believes it’s important to “serve and support this growing workforce”, and their ambitions were echoed by angel investor Wong Toon King of FarSight Capital, who funded them to help them start up.
They now operate a fully-digital insurance stack which aims to keep expense and loss ratios low using technology.
Amerson’s background in big data analytics paved the way for Gigacover to tap on “machine learning and analytics” to understand customers’ needs.
“I saw the impact that data could have on businesses, [so] at Gigacover, we have a view on collecting non-traditional data in order to improve underwriting models,” he said.
The Singapore firm has been pioneering new insurance solutions, such as the region’s first prolonged medical leave income protection product. Their suite of insurance products are also backed by Etiqa and AXA.
Early this year, Gigacover joined Gojek in an exclusive partnership to cover their drivers with earning protections of $80 per day when they fall ill or get hospitalised.
With their new funding, Amerson shared that they plan to serve more ‘gig work platforms’ that provide alternative employment options, similar to companies like Gojek.
“Gigacover plans to co-create new insurance and healthcare benefits products to help gig work platforms better attract, retain and reward their workforce.”
“We will use our technology to make the distribution, fulfilment and claims of these products cost-effective and sustainable,” he added.
Featured Image Credit: Gigacover
