South African insurance-technology start-up has raised R700-million in a series-B funding round as the seven-year old company looks to accelerate its growth.
The funding round, which included existing investors such as Hollard and the International Finance Corporation, has drawn funding for the first time from BlueOrchard, a global impact investment firm.
The insurtech was launched in 2018 by actuaries Alex Thomson, Sumarié Greybe and Ernest North. It created a fully digital platform that uses automation to speed up the process of buying insurance and making claims after a loss – without the need to engage with a call centre agent.
Indeed, the firm claims it sells 100% of its card, home and single-item insurance policies online without any human intervention, using artificial intelligence and machine learning to make decisions.
Naked said the new funding will be used to “deepen” its investment in automation and AI, product and market expansion, and enhancing advertising to attract and grow its customer base.
“Additionally, the funds will be used to meet the regulatory capital requirements tied to the rapid growth and evolution of Naked’s business,” it said. The company recently announced that it is setting up a “cell captive”, which means its cover will be underwritten by Hollard, but Naked is required to provide the regulatory capital needed to act as protection for policyholders, or a buffer, that allows Naked to pay claims even in extreme loss scenarios such as floods or an earthquake.
Second series-B round
Speaking to TechCentral in an interview on Monday, Thomson, who serves as Naked’s CEO, said the company has now raised a combined R1.2-billion in four funding rounds. The R700-million raise is Naked’s second series-B round.
“In simple terms, we are trying to build insurance that people actually like,” Thomson said. “Our differentiator is how we use technology, trying to ensure we are leveraging modern technology as best we can.”
This, he said, allows the customer to be in control when it comes to buying insurance and making claims. “That sense of control is aligned with what a lot of people want these days,” Thomson said.
TCS | How Naked got covered – Alex Thomson unpacks huge funding round
“We really looked at how we can use automation technology (AI) to make claims work considerably faster and more seamlessly and intelligently. We have seen a 30% speed-up in claims in the past year and reduced handling costs in claims by 25% by using technology.” — © 2025 NewsCentral Media
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