Third-quarter insurtech investment reached $3.13 billion, off from $4.82 billion in second-quarter 2021 but up from $2.54 billion in third-quarter 2020, according to the new Quarterly Insurtech Briefing from Willis Towers Watson PLC on Wednesday.
Investment in insurance technology start-ups surpassed the $10 billion mark for the first time in any one year; 2021 has now seen a record-breaking $10.5 billion raised during the first three quarters of the year, with three months still left to go, the report said.
Third-quarter’s 113 transactions were off from second quarter’s 161 deals but up from the 104 deals in third-quarter 2020.
The number of mega-rounds of more than $100 million in funding reached 11 and accounted for more than half of total funding, Willis said.
The U.S. dominated the deals count with 46% followed by the U.K. with 8%, China with 5%, India with 4%, and a host of nations at 3%. Eighteen percent of deals were listed as being in “other” jurisdictions.
By sector, 49% of deals were classified in the distribution sector, 42% in the business to business area, and only 9% in the insurance sector.
The growth of global insurtech investment over the past decade has been significant, but the stark pattern is a concentration of “the much for the few,” Andrew Johnston, global head of insurtech at Willis Re, said in a release with the report. “The continuing escalation of InsurTech funding does not mean that venture and growth capital is available to most or even many InsurTechs.”
Global insurtech funding reached a record $7.4 billion in the first half of this year, exceeding full-year totals for any previous year, according to Willis Tower Watson PLC’s quarterly InsurTech Briefing released Thursday.