Aqeed.com, the first insuretech specialist in the region, is officially set for launch, after having raised a ground breaking $18 million from its corporate shareholders in a landmark Series A round of funding.

Designed to offer customers a new level of transparency, accessibility and simplicity in understanding the insurance options most suited to them, Aqeed.com aims to disrupt the way in which insurance in bought, managed and serviced by providing access to an unparalleled portfolio of insurance companies.

The largest round for an insurance technology company in the region, the funding will go towards penetrating the UAE and Saudi Arabia market, hiring the right talent, and investing in the latest insurance technology.

Rachid Abi Nader, CEO of Aqeed, said: "As an insure tech veteran myself, Aqeed not only directly addresses problems common to the insurance market, but the concept goes over and beyond insurance aggregators currently in place. Indeed, the team we have put in place for Aqeed has tremendous expertise in both the insurance and technology fields.”

Founded by the shareholders behind Barents, an A-rated international Reinsurance group, and Equitrust, a company member of Choueiri Group, a leading media and advertising group in Mena, Aqeed’s vision is to change the way in which customers perceive insurance.

“Our aim is to go beyond the traditional and online distribution model and invest heavily in bringing the latest insure tech innovation, from artificial intelligence, machine learning, Internet of Things, telematics, as well as business process enhancement and automation,” Abi Nader added.

“As insurance experts, we want to help customers understand what they are buying,” said Hadi Radwan, chief product officer. “That way we can bridge the gap between what they have and what they need. Furthermore, the aim is to bring everything related to their insurance needs onto a singular friendly and efficient platform. With a frictionless flow of information now making it possible to make choices that are more informed, Aqeed aims to adopt the best of the digital environment while still retaining an intelligent human touch.”

“As a technology company we are focused on making insurance simple for customers. We have designed our solutions to help consumers understand, manage and buy insurance in an easy and transparent manner,” he added.

Abi Nader noted: “The present technology aims at making each interaction simpler and Aqeed has been conceived as a platform where customers can easily access and manage all their insurance documents in one place, thanks to our unique personalized dashboard. Our sister company owns an insurance brokerage license, and our UAE call centre allows consumers to talk to their own go-to insurance experts. We guide our customers not only through the buying process but also help in the post-sale process, in the event of claims.”

“Aqeed is introducing smart InsureTech to improve the life of MENA consumers and we are delighted to be their partner in this exciting journey,” said Patrick Thiriet, chief strategy office of Choueiri Group. “Our capacity to reach out those consumers in the region is certain to be an asset as they gain traction with their unique offering.”

After the launch of its core platform, Aqeed is adding on value for money adjuncts, including the development of a mobile application. Motor insurance is available immediately and Aqeed will be adding home and travel insurance to the portfolio very soon, a statement said. – TradeArabia News Service