Curacel, a Nigeria-based platform that aims to drive insurance penetration in emerging markets via APIs enabling insurers to connect with digital distribution channels and administer their claims, has raised $3 million in seed funding.
Curacel was intended to be an electronic health information management platform for healthcare providers, enabling clinics to digitize and manage paper records, appointments, patient communications, billing and reporting through a web app.
Even though insurance penetration is very low in Africa, many insurers’ processes are time-consuming, expensive, and prone to fraud and waste because they use paper and antiquated technology. As a result, billions are lost by African insurers yearly to fraudulent, wasteful and abusive (FWA) claims, making them cautious and risk-averse when dealing with customers.
The Nigerian insurtech, which works with more than 5,000 service providers across its eight markets, claims to have processed more than $100 million worth of claims since inception. Last year, Curacel grew its transaction volume by 600% and increased its revenue by 500%, it said in a statement. The company’s revenues come from charging an annual fee for claim processing and fraud detection.
Africa remains a relatively untapped market when it comes to insurance and technology presents the best opportunity to reach new users and deliver excellent services.