According to UEX CEO Grégoire Rastoul, insurance is a huge sector in Singapore, yet the biggest part of the value chain is kept by traditional players, and this needs to be changed

UEX Founder and CEO Grégoire Rastoul

Singapore-based insurance technology startup UEX has received SGD1.3 million (US$1 million) in strategic investment from its seed investor and French insurance broker Verspieren.

The insurtech startup will use the money to strengthen its presence in the local market, enhance its focus on developing its tech platform, and enlarge its range of health insurance products targeting SMEs.

“This funding enables Verspieren to access the Asian market through UEX. We sought investment from this French broker at this stage because we have an excellent relationship and perfect alignment on this year’s goals,” UEX Founder and CEO Grégoire Rastoul informed e27. “We plan to expand in the region and greater Asia towards the end of this year and the beginning of next year. We are adding new features to bridge the gap between individual and corporate plans.”

Started in 2016, the UEX app enables customers to personalise insurance and price, for one person or more, in a few clicks. Its products are catering to both individuals and small and medium enterprises (SMEs).

Also Read: So, 2017 was supposed to be the year of InsurTech in Singapore …

For SMEs, it offers an online distribution platform for both HR, admin and employees. The firm believes its model will enable employers, employees and their families to ease their purchase of health insurances and be appropriately covered with a one-stop shopping solution.

According to the company, the SMEs market has a great potential as it represents 99 per cent of the ACRA- registered companies in Singapore, with 64,000 new business entities created in 2016.

Early this month, Vouch Insurtech raised US$755,000 in seed funding from GREE Ventures, Nogle Capital Management and several unnamed angel investors. Recently, Axinan, another local startup co-founded by former Grab CTO Wei Zhu, secured an undisclosed funding in a Series A round led by NSI Ventures.

While there are firms like Vouch and Axinan in Singapore, UEX is fundamentally different from these players, says Rastoul. “Our focus is health insurance for everyone, individuals or corporates, and we aim at protecting as many people as possible. To achieve this, we believe that providing the right level of customisation and the best user experience (pre and post sales) is the way to go. That is why we have an exclusive insurance programme backed by AXA and are currently working on its next version.”

“We can’t be compared to Axian’s or Vouch’s offerings. First, because they are not protecting people but goods and this is a fundamental difference. We should be compared to our real competitors that are Pacific Prime, Expat Insurance or CXA in Singapore, but these firms are not focused on providing what people really want, but on selling insurance in a traditional way. We differ from them in the experience provided; we care for our members. In our vision, to always adjust the coverage is what people really need,” Rastoul added.

Talking about opportunities in the insurtech segment in Singapore, the UEX CEO said that it is an aggressive market, but there is room for everyone. Insurance is a wide sector and yet the biggest part of the value chain is kept by traditional players. “It should continue to grow. Opportunities in the city-state reside in being able to secure the right partnerships to expand. It is also a perfect lab to test ideas before tapping the big surrounding markets,” he shared.

In Singapore, UEX has been working exclusively with AXA. The startup has two other partners outside of Singapore. UEX boasts of 600-plus customers and expects the number by 3x in the coming months.

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