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PayPal Ventures\u2019 latest investment is in an Indonesian startup that provides personal insurance products covering a variety of risks<\/a>, including accidents, phone screen damage, and ticket cancellations.<\/p>\n Qoala<\/a> has secured $47 million in a new round co-led by PayPal Ventures and MassMutual Ventures, the five-year-old startup said Wednesday. MUFG Innovation Partners, Omidyar Network as well as existing backers Flourish Ventures, Eurazeo and AppWorks also participated in the Series C funding, which brings Qoala\u2019s total funding to more than $130 million since its inception.<\/p>\n Qoala, headquartered in Jakarta, is an insurance broker that works with top local insurers and e-commerce firms to offer customers personalized and affordable products. It sells the insurance coverage \u2014 ranging from cars, motorcycles, property, personal accidents, travel and health \u2014 through its website and app as well as via offline engagements.<\/p>\n The startup \u2013 which also relies on a network of over 60,000 human workforce that it refers to as \u201cagents\u201d or marketers to sell insurance \u2013 simplifies the claims process through image uploads and uses machine learning to detect fraud, benefiting both customers and insurers by expanding access to convenient, cost-effective insurance solutions.<\/p>\n It processed over 115,000 claims and reached 45,000 new customers last year, the startup said. Qoala, which also counts Peak XV among its backers, operates in Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam in addition to its home market of Indonesia.<\/p>\n Qoala revealed that its gross written premiums have surged by 2.5 times since 2022, and the startup now handles up to 60% of all claims internally, though it did not disclose exact numbers.<\/p>\n Qoala co-founder and chief executive Harshet Lunani said the new funding \u201cdemonstrates market confidence\u201d in the startup\u2019s strategy. \u201cOur mission to democratize insurance remains steadfast, and with this new infusion of funds, we are better equipped than ever to drive innovation and impact lives and livelihoods,\u201d he said in a prepared statement.<\/p>\n Qoala plans to deploy the fresh funds to explore strategic acquisitions and partnerships as well as in sprinkling AI across its channels.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is commendable to see what Qoala has achieved in a short period of time,\u201d said Alexandros Bottenbruch, Principal at PayPal Ventures in a statement. \u201cBy positioning itself as the solution of choice for both consumer-facing platforms and traditional agents, Qoala is providing consumers across Southeast Asia with much-needed tools to address the persistent protection gap.\u201d<\/p>\n PayPal Ventures is no stranger to Indonesia. It also backed Gojek in 2020<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n