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Anorak scores £4M funding to make life insurance more accessible

VCs continue to pump money into startups attempting to inject life into the legacy and lucrative insurance industry. The latest ‘insurtech’ company to pick up funding in the U.K. is Anorak Technologies, which is on a self-described mission to “build the world’s smartest independent insurance adviser,” starting with life insurance.

The London-based startup has raised £4 million in seed funding from Kamet Ventures, the €100 million-backed incubator set up by insurance giant AXA. Anorak says it will use the new capital to invest in the platform, including taking advantage of Open Banking, and for business development, such as forging partnerships with banks, wealth managers, and online brokers.

Like almost every other insurance startup, Anorak is talking up its use of data science and machine learning to help you find the life insurance policy most suited to you. But, tellingly, it is also trying to crack the sales and distribution funnel, noting that most people in the U.K. don’t take out a life insurance policy or have sufficient cover.

To do this, the startup is making a partnership and API play so that its digital insurance brokerage can plug into other products, such as online banking and e-commerce, to offer up the right product at the right time. This might coincide with a significant life event, such as buying a house or starting a family.

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