Bdeo, the leading insurtech company in Spain and Latin America, has just closed a Series A round of funding worth €5 million. The fundraising was led by BlackFin, a European investment firm focused on financial services, with further support from current investors K Fund and Big Sur Ventures who invested €1 million in Bdeo’s seed round in 2019.
The new funding will help consolidate Bdeo's position in the markets where it currently operates as part of its plan to become leaders in visual intelligence in the insurance sector by 2022.
The insurance industry is undoubtedly one of the most attractive markets for venture capital, with over €800 million invested in European insurtech companies in 2019 alone. Nevertheless, according to a recent study by astorya.vc, much of this investment has been made in companies focused on distribution, while only a small part has been directed to companies whose technology improves the operational performance of insurance companies by reducing the impact of fraud or by digitising their processes.
With a combination of some of the most innovative technologies on the market, specifically artificial intelligence, Bdeo digitises the interaction between insurance companies and policyholders, offering a comprehensive solution that spans from automatic policy subscription to the digitalisation of claims management through automatic damage detection.
Bdeo is one of the few companies today whose solutions, based on deep learning algorithms, offer real application in the market. Bdeo has been recognized by Fintech Global as one of the leading 100 companies in the InsurTech space for the second consecutive year.
“Our technology reduces the operational costs of insurers by up to 70% while radically improving the experience of policyholders, increasing their NPS by 20 points on average. As a result, in just three years, we have begun working with 30 insurance companies in 19 countries on three different continents,” said Julio Pernía, CEO and co-founder of Bdeo.
The current situation brought on by Covid-19 has favoured the growth of Bdeo. While many insurance companies were prudent in their approach to transformation in the past, this process has now become a top strategic priority throughout the sector — a change that has undoubtedly paid dividends in this latest operation.
“At BlackFin, we strongly believe in Bdeo's product-market fit, in a context where P&C insurers try their best to lower their operational costs and to provide best-in-class customer experiences. By leading this investment in Bdeo, we hope to bring to the team both our deep knowledge of Insurtech and the network of Insurers we've developed all over Europe," said Gabrielle Thomas, Investment Director at BlackFin Tech.
According to K Fund, any inefficiencies that take place between an insurance company and a policyholder during the registration and claims processes end up translating into a bad experience for the latter. Users not only demand digital experiences, but they also want processes to be agile and easily understood. Not offering this type of experience has a direct impact on the policyholder’s perception of the service, which has a growing influence on whether or not a customer chooses or renews any particular service, including insurance. Thanks to Bdeo, insurers can provide outstanding experiences for their Motor and Property customers.
Big Sur Ventures added, “Bdeo’s solution is especially powerful because beyond bringing the underwriter significant operational efficiency, it also has impact on their revenue line. All auto and home insurance holders find the claims adjustments slow and inconvenient. By facilitating the entire claims process the insured party experiences a ‘wow’ moment that translates into longer customer life, a willingness to contract further insurance with the underwriter, and word-of-mouth recommendations to friends.”
“This funding will allow us to consolidate our presence in the markets where we operate, expand to new markets — especially in Europe — and, above all, continue to develop a great product through an ongoing investment in innovation and the latest technology,” stated Pernía. “Our goal is to become global leaders in visual intelligence for the insurance sector and, to do so, we want to bring in the best talent in all areas: product, artificial intelligence and business development. That is our focus at the moment: hiring the best talents.”