UpCover secures $19 million as it ramps up challenge to Australia’s analog incumbents in the commercial insurance sector
Upcover, Australia’s only digital-first commercial insurance broking company, has raised $19 million in a Series A funding round, aiming to secure a greater share of the local $20 billion sector, dominated by just four major insurance companies and thousands of small business insurance brokerages.
In securing its raise, UpCover defied a tumultuous year for the Australian startup industry, doubling its revenue in 2024 and halving its costs. The funds will be used to support UpCover’s growth as it launches new digital insurance products to market in 2025, expanding its offering to over 60,000 businesses already leveraging the UpCover platform.
The round – $11 million in equity, $8 million in debt – was led by RealVC, and supported by a number of local and global investors including Antler Elevate’s Global Fund, Betterlabs and Gandel Invest, the family office run by Tony and Adam Gandel. Marshall Investments provided the $8 million debt facility.
UpCover offers the world fastest business insurance quoting experience powered by its proprietary instant quote flow across a range of business industry verticals. Despite a significant shift towards online-first insurance platforms abroad, over 95% of commercial insurance in Australia is still negotiated via offline brokers. This is in stark contrast to home and motor insurance, where well over 60% of the transactions are completed online.Leveraging UpCover, companies can access market-leading business insurance products including public liability, professional indemnity, directors liability insurance and dedicated specific insurance for scaling and technology businesses. Where needed, UpCover also provides businesses with one click financing for business insurance products offered on its platform.
The business also offers white labelled (or embedded) insurance solutions and insurance APIs,enabling brands to offer B2B insurance utilising upcover’s market leading insurance platform, as well as its unique AI-assisted customer support layer.
Skye Theodorou, Co-Founder of UpCover, said, “We’ve defied the odds with UpCover. Not only has the business thrived during one of the hardest years Australia’s startup industry has seen, but we’re also competing against four of Australia’s largest companies who control 80% of our market. It’s no wonder we’re still the only startup in this sector of insurance.”
“It’s telling that one in three businesses that quote with us, end up taking insurance from us. Over $20 billion worth in business insurance is sold annually in Australia. Only 5% of it is traded digitally. Despite the majority of it being sold by brokers, it’s still by-and-large not relevant to the customer. Time and time again, businesses and business owners are sold insurance that simply doesn’t fit their needs, or even worse, doesn’t properly cover them.
“It’s one of the few instances where automation is absolutely doing a better job than their human counterparts. Once insurance is sold, brokers don’t always check in with businesses as they grow, to ensure their coverage continues to fit their needs. It’s something we’ve built into UpCover.”
Anish Sinha, Co-Founder of UpCover, added, “We’ve always operated with a capital scarcity mindset, that has helped us thrive in what has been one of the startup industry’s toughest years to date.”
“In less than three years, and with a fifth of the funding raised by our US and UK counterparts, we’ve helped 1% of all businesses in Australia to find the right insurance. Overseas players in this sector have spent significantly more to acquire a similar market share.
“With our $19 million Series A funding, we’re now armed with the firepower to dominate the market, quadruple our penetration, launch cutting-edge digital insurance verticals, and embed AI at the core of UpCover’s business insurance broking and underwriting technology.”
“The business insurance industry has seen a string of M&A and PE buyouts in the last couple of years, reducing the choice for Australian businesses. Staying independent, remaining nimble and cost conscious, and injecting new capital will enable UpCover to challenge the status quo of the analog incumbents and disrupt the commercial insurance industry in 2025 and beyond.”
Paul Saunders, Partner at RealVC, said, “The $20 billion Australian business insurance industry has remained stubbornly analogue, with the customer deeply unhappy with the experience and coverage. This has provided an enormous opportunity for a digital disruptor to change the paradigm.
“RealVC is delighted to lead Upcover’s Series A round. The founding team of Skye, Anish, and Sajjad has the rare combination of deep domain knowledge, impressive execution, and technical skills. This position positions the company to dramatically improve the customer experience.
“RealVC is an active investor that invests in businesses that meet its 5 M criteria: strong Management, a large and growing Market, a profitable business Model, and a sustainable and competitive Moat. These four criteria need to coincide with the right Moment in time. With the advent of AI significantly increasing what is possible to deliver for our customers, Upcover exhibits all of these qualities.”
James Edwards, CEO of BetterLabs, said, “Upcover’s remarkable growth trajectory, despite the recent challenges in the Australian startup ecosystem, is a testament to the founding team’s resilience, focus and capability. We are very proud to have led their Seed round and continue to believe in their ability to further disrupt the business insurance market in Australia.
“This Series A round, led by RealVC and supported by BetterLabs, will provide the firepower for Upcover to expand their innovative digital product offerings, continue on their remarkable growth trajectory and solidify their position as the leader in the Insurtech space.”
Fady Abdel-Nour, Partner at Antler Elevate, said, “At Antler Elevate, we back exceptional founders who are leveraging technology to transform industries. Upcover is redefining the insurance experience for small businesses and independent workers, making it more accessible, affordable, and frictionless. Their strong execution, deep industry expertise, and bold vision align perfectly with our investment thesis. We’re excited to support Upcover as they scale and reshape the future of insurance.”
UpCover launched its platform in 2021, founded by Skye Theodorou, Anish Sinha and Sajjad Naveed.
This latest raise builds on UpCover’s earlier seed round, where it raised $2.7 million in equity funding, led by Betterlabs and Antler, and $2 million in debt. Upcover has raised a total of $23.7 million to date, $13.7 million of which is equity funding.
