Page 15 - Insurance Times December 2019

International

News

Health insurance startup Bangladesh PM asks insurers to eye on social responsi-

Alan introduces 4 new bilities
verticals The Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has recently asked the insurance
companies to focus on their social responsibilities instead of
France based insurance startup Alan paying attention on profit. She said this during the inaugura-
has announced new products, inter- tion of the three-day 15th International Conference on Inclu-
national expansion plans and a sive Insurance called "Coping with Climate Risk.” The confer-
brand refresh. The company also an- ence was held at Dhaka's Pan Pacific Sonargaon Hotel.
nounced plans to overhaul some of
its tech stack to improve the overall In association with the Microinsurance Network, Bangladesh Insurance Asso-
user experience. ciation (BIA) and the Munich Re Foundation have recently organized the con-
ference. The prime minister further added that the insurance industry is re-
The insurer aims to create a well-de- quired to work for the welfare of humankind.
signed insurance product with trans-
parent pricing and policies to make She urged the insurance companies to play a more effective role in keeping
healthcare more accessible. The the production as well as the economy free from any risk, while adding, "We
startup has obtained an official think life insurance can be utilized in facing natural calamities.” She further
health insurance license and raised added that the government is constructing houses and cyclone shelters in the
around $86 million over the years. areas that are prone to natural calamities.
Earlier Alan offered insurance prod- "If the insurance companies come forward and stand by the people, I think the
ucts to companies and freelancers. people of Bangladesh will be pulled out from poverty. Also, Bangladesh will be
The insurer is greatly expanding its able to step towards overall development faster, and we are giving special
potential user base by addressing attention to this," Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina said.
new markets.
“Our users are smart. We already Munich Re-backed insurtech Next Insurance appoints
had users for all products that we’re executives from Fitbit & Yelp
launching today, but they were
working around the rules,” co- Backed by Munich Re, the digital insurtech firm Next Insurance has recently
founder and CEO Jean-Charles announced the appointments of former Fitbit execu-
Samuelian said. tive Melanie Chase as Chief Marketing Officer and
former Yelp executive Effi Fuks Leichtag as Chief Prod-
“Our mission is to be more than a uct Officer. Next Insurance provides digital small busi-
health insurance company, we want ness insurance coverage all over the world the US to
to be your health ally,” Samuelian
added. Alan also shared some de- over 1,000 types of business with.
tails about future product updates Munich Re has invested $250 million in the start-up as the sole investor in its
and business updates. The company series C funding round, which valued the firm at more than $1 billion. Next
is going to expand to other countries Insurance has appointed Chase as its Chief Market Officer, who will oversee
starting next year. the company’s marketing brand, strategy, and operations.

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