PremFina, a UK software firm which serves insurance brokers, has raised $36m (£27m) from investors including Rakuten Capital – the investment arm of Japan’s FinTech firm Rakuten – and Draper Esprit.
Thomvest Ventures, Emery Capital, Rubicon Venture Capital, Talis Capital and the company’s founder Bundeep Singh Rangar also participated.
The round – consisting of equity and debt funding – will help the London-based company boost its operations nationwide and support its expansion overseas.
“The participation of outstanding investors from Toronto to Tokyo in our oversubscribed round highlights the vast opportunity ahead for PremFina,” said Bundeep Singh Rangar, CEO and founder of PremFina, who invested in 17% of the equity portion alongside the institutional investors. “Our new investors bring great strategic value and priceless global financial relationships.”
“Premium financing is an industry that’s been crying out for innovation. The incumbents have remained largely unchallenged due to age-old barriers to entry, such as the lack of funding for insurance startups, costs and time of regulatory compliance and significant investment in technological capability needed to meaningfully enter the market. Consequently, InsurTech has lagged behind other areas of FinTech in terms of innovation. PremFina has overcome these barriers and is now poised for growth,” Rangar added.
“Rakuten sees outstanding growth potential in PremFina’s business model of promoting insurance inclusion and providing access to affordable insurance,” said Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel, managing partner at Rakuten Capital. “We are excited to support the growth of PremFina’s innovative business in the UK and internationally.”
“PremFina has built a strong SaaS revenue model with excellent growth opportunities,“ said Simon Cook, CEO of Draper Esprit. “With its innovative offering increasing efficiency in the insurance industry model, PremFina ticks all the insurtech boxes. We are excited to help them dominate the market in the next few years.”
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