The company also secured $8 million in debt financing from Marshall Investments.
Founded in 2019, Upcover is a digital brokerage providing tailored business insurance solutions for Australia’s 2.4 million small businesses and independent contractors. The platform offers a fully online experience, along with embedded insurance solutions for partners, enabling seamless coverage integration.
Since its 2021 launch, Upcover has partnered with over 20 global and local insurers and underwriters, helping more than 60,000 SMBs, startups, and scale-ups access insurance coverage.
The latest funding round means Upcover’s valuation has reached $45 million, positioning the company for further growth as it continues to enhance its digital insurance offerings and expand market reach.
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 said: “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.”
Paul Saunders, Partner at RealVC, added: “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.”
