French insurance unicorn Allan has signed a multi-faceted deal with Belphius, one of Belgium’s largest banks, which includes a distribution partnership and a significant financial investment in the startup.
Belfius leads Alan’s Series F funding round with €173 million (approximately $193 million at current exchange rates). Some of Alan’s existing investors are participating again, namely OTPP, Temasek, Coatue and Lakestar via Teachers’ Venture Growth.
If you’re not familiar with Alan, the company originally started out as a health insurance product to supplement France’s national healthcare system. French companies are required to offer health insurance to all their employees when they sign up.
Alan has optimized his core product to provide a much better user experience than traditional insurance providers. For example, Alan has automated much of the claims management system. In some cases, he receives a refund in his bank account within a minute of leaving the doctor’s office.
Over time, the company added other health-related services, such as chatting with doctors through its mobile app, ordering prescription glasses, and accessing preventive care content for mental health, back pain, and more. More recently, the company turned to AI to improve productivity.
Earlier this year, Allen shared some metrics about the company’s performance: the company has more than 500,000 customers on Allen’s insurance products and it said it could become profitable without another round of funding.
But Alan said the partnership with Belphius is a great opportunity to expand its customer base in Belgium. The bank will offer the startup’s health insurance products to its corporate and institutional clients, which represent millions of employees.
“This privileged partnership with Belfius, which has delivered a truly inspiring transformation over the past decade, opens the door to a new era for Alan in Belgium. Belfius’ investment will allow us to accelerate our development and expand our capacity to provide cutting-edge, accessible health products and services to a broad audience,” said Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve, Alan’s co-founder and CEO, in a statement.
Since February, Alan has added 150,000 customers, including the French Prime Minister’s Office, and expects annual recurring revenue to reach €450 million (about $500 million) this year.
But Alan is not your typical SaaS (Software-as-a-Service) company, and most of its revenue is set aside to process insurance claims. One thing is certain, though: the company’s growth doesn’t seem to be slowing down.
