The Courier & Advertiser (Perth and Perthshire Edition)
Tech firm raises £6m to target US market and plans on doubling staff
ADundee tech firm plans to double its workforce and expansion to America after securing more than £6 million in fundraising.
Broker Insights was founded by former Aviva executives Fraser Edmond and Iain Crole in 2018.
The platform, which connects insurance brokers and insurers, has since captured 12% of the UK commercial market.
Now it has completed the multi-million-pound fundraising round to enter the US marketplace.
The company employs 35 staff at its headquarters at Water’s Edge.
It expects to double its headcount next year, with up to three-quarters of the new roles in Dundee.
Brokers Insights’ platform – the first of its type for the commercial insurance market – enables insurers to distribute their products more efficiently to regional brokers.
It also provides real-time data to give them greater insight into companies’ insurance requirements.
Its platform now connects insurers such as AXA, RSA, Zurich, QBE, Travelers, Markel, and Hiscox with more than 160 brokers.
In the past year the platform has doubled its gross written premiums – the insurance industry yardstick – to more than £1 billion.
Chief executive Fraser Edmond hailed the investment as a “massive step forward”.
He said: “This investment is an endorsement of our success in building our platform, technology and team.
“We have established that our platform delivers results for our customers.”
Mr Edmond said the investment allowed them to recruit more staff.
“It is attracting significant and growing demand from brokers and insurers alike.
“We have the opportunity to become a mainstream digital marketplace for insurers and brokers.”
The investment will also allow Broker Insights to begin its plan to expand into the American market.
Mr Edmond outlined the next stages of that plan.
“In the new year it will be doing what we’ve done in the UK all over again,” he said.
“This time we’ve built the product, we’ve got a track record and we’ve got customers in the UK who are also massive US insurers.
“We’ve got customers that can walk us into our home territory.
“It’s about repeating what we’ve done but in a territory that is 10 times the size of the UK.”
The Series A funding round was led by Mercia Asset Management.
Other investments came from a group of private UK and US investors.
These include Dundeebased Chroma Ventures – owned by 4J Studio entrepreneurs Chris van der Kuyl and Paddy Burns – who have backed the firm since inception.
Mr van der Kuyl, chairman of Broker Insights, praised the company’s co-founders for their patience since setting up the firm five years ago.
He said: “From an idea that Fraser and Ian cooked up five years ago to a £30m company is amazing.
“Everyone involved with the company couldn’t be more delighted.
“Broker Insights has created a unique marketplace for commercial insurance, proven that it works and grown the business at pace.
“We are creating a global leader in the digital transformation of the commercial insurance market and this positions the company for expansion.
“The company’s performance and progress to date has been exceptional.
“This growth capital raise now positions them for further growth in the UK and entry into the US.”