The UK鈥檚 first AI-native insurance broker has closed an oversubscribed pre-seed funding round of 拢950,000 to scale its technology and expand its team.
Glasgow and London-based Meshed, whose CEO is exited founder Mark Costello, has gained the backing of prominent UK-based venture capital funds Haatch, Aviva via Founders Factory and Exponential Science Foundation, along with notable angels.聽
The funding will accelerate the firm鈥檚 mission to rebuild the commercial insurance brokerage model from the ground up, leveraging AI to eliminate tedious manual processes.
By targeting the administrative cost centre, Meshed can reduce its commission, allowing customers to pay less.
鈥淎fter nearly 20 years in the industry, I鈥檝e seen just how little has changed,鈥� said Costello.
鈥淚nsurance is still too reliant on paperwork, underinsurance is far too common and fees are often higher than they should be.聽
鈥淲e built Meshed to change that, to bring costs down for SMEs, give them the right protection and make the whole process faster, simpler, and more transparent.鈥�
The business is tackling the fact that approximately 80% of UK SMEs are significantly underinsured, which it says is largely due to outdated brokerage practices and inefficient manual operations.聽
Its AI-powered platform introduces agents to support different elements of the broker experience, including browser use agents for quoting and voice agents for data collection, letting human brokers focus on client relationships and high-value advice.
Arslan Hannani, chief innovation officer of Aviva, added: 鈥淲e always want to be on the leading edge of enabling our customers to protect themselves as much as they possibly need to and can.聽
鈥淚n order to do that, we need to keep finding the latest and the brightest [start-ups].
鈥淲e have to think about the founding team, the idea, the quality of the founders. [When it came to Meshed], it was pretty easy for us to get on board.鈥�
The pre-seed funding arrives alongside Meshed’s recent regulatory authorisation by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) as an Appointed Representative.聽
The company has secured 51 insurer agency agreements to date and early customers have already reported up to 52% in savings on their insurance.
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