Startup Insurtech Fuse Receives Additional Series B Funding

Startups insurtech Fuse announces additional Series B funding (extended series B) from eWTP Technology and Investment Fund, CE Innovation Capital (CEIC), and Saratoga Investama Sedaya. No mention of the amount of funds obtained.

This announcement was made one month after Fuse announced series B funding led by GGV Capital with previous investor involvement. Among them are East Ventures Growth, SMDV, Golden Gate Ventures, Heyokha Brothers, and others.

eWTP is one of the investment arms which in-backup by Alibaba with $600 million under management. Fund The program targets startup investments in developing countries, such as India, Vietnam, and Thailand. Fuse is the first eWTP portfolio in Indonesia.

In an official statement, eWTP Partner & CFO Jiang Dawei said, "Fuse has a unique value proposition that can empower traditional sales channels by connecting various insurance companies. So far, the insurance company is spread out with a network of agents and provides comprehensive insurance products for agents/brokers.

“Fuse has also demonstrated the ability to leverage innovative and cutting-edge insurance products from other countries to create a unique competitive advantage. Therefore, we see Fuse as a strong regional player in Southeast Asia in the near future,” said Dawei, Thursday (16/9).

CEIC partner Xiaolin Zheng added, Fuse has a competitive advantage in distribution omnichannel and technological innovation. They position themselves with the “To Agent” model which has increased the efficiency of the insurance supply chain in digital form.

“We believe this puts Fuse on the right track to scale its business in the long term. The low penetration of insurance products in Indonesia has resulted in promising growth prospects and increased demand from consumers during the pandemic," he said.

Fuse CEO Andy Yeung said he welcomes eWTP, CEIC and Saratoga as investors as they are leaders in their respective sectors. “We look forward to the valuable experiences to be gained from them.”

Yeung founded Fuse with Ivan Sunandar in 2017, both are veterans in the insurance industry. It is claimed that Fuse already has more than 60 thousand agent/broker partners and works with more than 30 insurance companies to market more than 300 insurance products on the platform.

Total Gross Premium Income (Gross Written Premium/GWP) that Fuse has processed reached more than $50 million (Rp720 billion) last year. This figure is claimed to make Fuse a company insurtech largest in Indonesia. However, this potential can be explored further because Fuse wants to solve the trust problem among the 97% of Indonesians who do not have insurance.

Fuse launched the Fuse Pro application which allows agent/broker partners to close policies instantly and easily for consumers.

Fuse's operations are not only in Indonesia, but have also expanded to Vietnam and China with a total of 28 branch offices and more than 460 employees.

Market competition

Startups insurtech indeed is gaining high traction during the pandemic. The achievements of startups from Indonesia are then replicated when they enter the regional market. This move was also carried out by Fuse's competitors, such as PasarPolis and Qoala.

PasarPolis which has also spread its wings to Thailand and Vietnam. The startup claims to have processed more than 300 million policies by the end of August 2021. PasarPolis has also pocketed additional series B funding earlier this year amounting to Rp70 billion from IFC.

Apart from those two players, there were Qoala which has also pocketed series A funding worth Rp209 billion led by MDI Ventures through the Centauri Fund. This startup has also entered Thailand, Malaysia, and Vietnam. As of March 2020, Qoala claims to have processed more than 2 million policies per month, up from the same month in the previous year of 7 policies.

According to processed data DSInnovate in "Insurtech Report 2021", the GWP that has been recorded by the insurance industry in Indonesia has reached $20,8 billion in 2020. Life insurance dominates the figure with a percentage of 73,8%.

Although it was affected by the pandemic at the beginning of its emergence in Indonesia, this sector can recover relatively quickly when viewed from the perspective of Gross Premium Income obtained. In the report above, there are several important factors that can drive insurance adoption.

First, the content of the claim process must make it easier (48% of respondents). Then the second is related to the service provider brand that must be convincing (39%). Then proceed with costs (37%) and benefits provided (11%).