Altara Ventures, Auspac (financial advisory service), and Gobi Partners led a US $6 million Series A investment round for PolicyStreet, a Malaysia-based digital insurance marketplace.
KK Fund, and Spiral Ventures, both existing investors, also took part.
The insurtech firm plans to use the additional funds to expand into new markets in Southeast Asia. It also intends to increase its technological and business skills.
The Malaysian Labuan Financial Services Authority has given the firm preliminary permission for a General Insurance and Reinsurance licence. PolicyStreet may now design and underwrite insurance products thanks to this licence.
Yen Ming Lee, Wilson Beh, and Winnie Chua founded PolicyStreet in 2017 after working in the insurance and financial industries. Consumers and companies may use the company’s digital platform to make insurance purchasing and policy administration easier, cheaper, and more accessible.
The firm now has 40 insurance partners with whom it works.
The Central Bank of Malaysia had previously approved the company for both Financial Advisory and Islamic Financial Advisory.
PolicyStreet recently announced a series of key collaborations, which led to this current investment round. In Malaysia, the firm is collaborating with digital platforms such as AirAsia Money and Carro (via its subsidiary myTukar) on vehicle insurance. Foodpanda has partnered with PolicyStreet to offer coverage to its delivery partners.
Dave Ng, General Partner at Altara Ventures, said, “We believe in the potential of embedded digital insurance platforms to flip the existing model and put customers in the center. We have a strong conviction in the PolicyStreet team to bring innovation and advancement in digital insurtech to our region.”
Thomas Tsao, founding partner and chair of Gobi, noted, “PolicyStreet’s ability to quickly identify gaps in the insurance and protection market, as evidenced by its multiple strategic partnerships, has seen it capitalise on accelerating digital adoption. As more services enter the online space, the insurance and protection market will adapt and build new solutions in response.”
PolicyStreet received a US$1.8 million Series A investment from KK Fund, Spiral Ventures, and others in June 2020.
