Startups, Payers

French health insurance startup Alan raises $45 million

Alan, which was founded in 2016, has raised more than $85 million in total. The startup said it has increased its insured base to 27,000 people and its revenue to $25 million in 2018

Paris, France-based digital insurance startup Alan has added to its funding haul with a €40 million ($45 million) Series B financing round led by Index Ventures and DST Global as it looks to expand its domestic market share.

The capital will be dedicated to developing new services, growing Alan’s  customer base in the SMB and self-employed space and expanding the startup’s headcount to 175 by the end of 2019.

Alan, which was founded in 2016, has raised more than $85 million in total. The startup said it has increased its insured base to 27,000 people and its revenue to $25 million in 2018

Alan’s idea is to create a more consumer friendly health insurance product with more transparent pricing and reimbursement policies and features such as telemedicine services and care navigation tools like Alan Map, which helps users identify nearby clinicians and book appointments.

Part of the company’s pitch is to open up access to modern health insurance options to small and medium sized companies which have been traditionally ignored by health plan chasing larger corporations.

“Legacy solutions lead many employers to provide limited and inefficient health insurance for their employees. Through Alan, companies can sign-up quickly and easily and offer best-in-class healthcare for their employees at a competitive price and in a digital format,” DST Global Managing Partner Tom Stafford said in a statement.

In France – which has universal basic coverage provided by the government – private health insurers reimburse for elective or higher end procedures. Like in the United States, these plans are generally subsidized by employers.

The problem, according to Alan, are that smaller companies and freelancers struggle with the high cost of administering and providing the benefit.

It was that coverage that led the company to become the first new licensed health insurance provider in the country in 30 years and offer their tech-enabled service for about $63 a month per employee, on par with competitor prices.

“At Alan, we want to create a dramatic move to a more transparent, caring, and delightful health experience. Moving fast – it has been only 10 months since our last fundraising – with the support of top-tier investors is a confirmation of our vision to build intuitively obvious healthcare for the community,” Alan CEO Jean-Charles Samuelian said in a statement.

Picture: oatawa, Getty Images

Shares1
Shares1