French insurtech start-up Zelros nabs $11m Series A for AI-powered insurance distribution platform

French insurtech start-up Zelros has secured $11 million Series A funding to scale operations across Europe and expand its artificial intelligence-driven insurance distribution platform into North America.

The funding round was led by Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm BGV, with participation from start-up accelerator Plug and Play, ISAI Cap Venture, HI INOV, 42CAP and astorya.vc. It brings the company's total funding to date to $16.5 million.

Zelros' AI business platform offers insurers, bancassurers, and policyholders an efficient, fluid, and personalised way to distribute and receive products and services.

The platform continuously learns, adapts, and improves its capabilities in real-time, offering insurance advisors and agents a streamlined and semi-automated experience from product/service needs discovery and sales to underwriting. It also allows insurance providers to offer policyholders fully automated, advisor-free subscription options.

Zelros currently works with 15 insurance providers in Europe, including BPCE, AXA, Crédit Agricole, MAIF, La Banque Postale, AssurOne, +Simple, across property and casualty (P&C) and life insurance business lines. It also works closely with insurance regulators to promote usage of fair and transparent AI.

The company's co-founder and COO Damien Philippon plans to relocate and launch the company's Montreal-based North American headquarters in the third quarter of 2021.

Christophe Bourguignat, co-founder and CEO of Zelros, said the company's aim is to develop AI-driven technology to improve and advance the insurance industry. "We're passionate about helping insurance players transform into technology-first companies, and the support of BGV, Capgemini, and all of our investors will empower us to accomplish our mission," he said.

According to Eric Buatois, general partner at BGV: "Zelros is using AI to improve traditional insurance-industry standards and deliver immediate business value and ROI improvements for its customers. Their solution is helping insurance professionals to be more efficient and integrates smoothly into existing workflows while providing transparency on the final recommendation."

Seth Rachlin, global head of property and casualty insurance for Capgemini, commented: "The COVID pandemic and the digital revolution have forced insurers across the globe to rethink how they sell; even those who rely on agents and brokers to make the sale recognize the power of technology to enhance the productivity and effectiveness of the people who represent their brand.

"Zelros brings a powerful AI-based capability to the insurance sales process. Its machine learning engine identifies upsell and cross-sell opportunities at the point of customer interaction empowering agents to recommend the right insurance product to the right customer at the right time."

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