Kiwi insurtech Simfuni banks NZ$2.8 million in Series A

Auckland-based insurance premium payments platform Simfuni has raised NZ$2.8 million in a Series A to save brokers time and money.

 The round was led by Kiwi VC funds Icehouse Ventures and GD1, with support from K1W1 and NZVC.

The insurtech platform integrates with any insurer, broker group or premium funder’s quoting and invoicing software in New Zealand, cutting administrative time and costs while simplifying payments and offering instalments through a modern e-commerce experience. The company plans to launch in Australia this year.

Cofounders Shaun Quincey and Damon O’Neill previously launched BNPL Genoapay, selling it to ASX-listed Latitude Financial Services in 2018.

Quincey, Simfuni’s CEO, said the moved into the insurtech space after seeing how cumbersome insurance payments are to administer, relying on manual reconciliation with policy holders’ accounts.

“Current systems do not offer consumers the flexible payment choices they have come to expect in other categories,” he said.

“Backed by experienced investors our platform will scale quickly, bringing innovation to insurance premium payments that benefits brokers, premium funders and insurers, and enhances the overall experience for policyholders.”

He plans to sell the platform directly to brokers and through distribution partnerships, with Quincey saying they expect to have 100 brokers on board by the end of this year.

The funding will support their customer acquisition plans.

Dale Smith, CEO of JAVLN, a Simfuni integration partner, said: “Brokers are seeking digital solutions that improve their competitiveness, and payments has until now remained a pinch point. For consumers and businesses, it’s not just about when to pay, but also about how to pay.”

Simfuni’s solution allows brokers to instantly generate flexible payment options in a single checkout flow.  The Kiwi insurance premium payments management market is worth around NZ$15 billion.

Marc Hershman, Director of Insurely, a broker, said Simfuni has “a great vision” to simplify the customer payment journey and reduce the administrative burden for brokers.

“We are keen to support digital solutions like this that improve our sales efficiency and cut out unnecessary friction points,” he said.