NIGERIA – Nigerian insurtech startup that makes it easy to buy and claim insurance, ETAP has secured US$1.5 million in pre-seed round to grow its team and drive the adoption of much-needed car insurance across Africa.
The pre-seed funding round was led by Mobility 54 with participation from Tangerine Insurance, Graph Ventures (invested in Clubhouse), and Newmont.
The new funding will support the roll-out of ETAP’s game-changing app, which allows drivers to buy insurance in 90 seconds, complete claims in 3 minutes or less, and get rewarded for safe driving and avoiding accidents.
Working with a wide range of automotive value chain players, ETAP will also explore other opportunities to deliver much-needed insurance services for car owners in other countries across the continent.
Only one in five cars in Nigeria are currently insured, and the complexities of buying and claiming insurance have led to widespread apathy for traditional insurance companies and products, with many car owners opting to go without insurance.
With ETAP, buying and claiming insurance happens exclusively on a smartphone, enabling a seamless and enjoyable insurance experience for users.
Since launching in beta in November 2021, ETAP has insured more than 130,000 individual trips and over 500,000 car journeys, representing more than eight times the total distance of paved roads in Nigeria.
“Just like any other digital service, we believe Nigerians should be able to buy and claim car insurance without having to ‘call a guy,” said Ibraheem Babalola, CEO and founder of ETAP.
The insurtech company uses machine learning to build intelligent risk profiles that determine appropriate premiums for each driver, allowing them to achieve lower premiums by driving safely.
Using advanced telematics, the driving experience is gamified to improve driving behavior, and drivers can earn Safe Driving Points that can be exchanged for shopping vouchers for the most in-demand retail outlets, fuel, cinema and concert tickets, and other exciting experiences.
Depending on their needs, drivers also have flexible coverage options, including daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, and annual plans.
In the unfortunate event of an accident, they simply need to take a picture of the affected part of the car via the app, and artificial intelligence processes the claim based on previously uploaded images.
The app comes with geolocation tags, timestamps, and other features to prevent fraudulent claims, as well as crash notification, emergency support, and more.
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