Health insurance startup Alan hits $4.5B valuation with new $193M funding round

Alan, the French insurance unicorn, recently signed a multi-faceted agreement with Belfius, one of the largest banks in Belgium, which includes a distribution partnership and a significant initial investment.

Belfius is leading Alan’s Series F funding round of 173 million euros (about $193 million at current exchange rates). Some of Alan’s existing investors are also participating, namely the Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan (through Temasek, Coatue and Lakestar).

If you don’t know Alan, the company originally started with a health insurance product that complements the national health care system in France. French companies must provide health insurance to all their employees upon joining.

Alan has improved his core product as much as possible so that his user experience is much better than a legacy insurance provider. For example, Alan designed many parts of the claims management system himself. In some cases, you get the refund in your bank account just a minute after you leave the doctor’s office.

Over time, the company added other health-related services, such as the ability to chat with doctors, order prescription glasses, and access content related to mental health, back pain and more through its mobile app. Recently, the company has turned to AI to increase its productivity.

Earlier this year, Alan shared some metrics about the company’s performance. The company said more than 500,000 people were covered by Alan’s insurance products, and it could turn a profit without raising another round of funding.

But Alan said the partnership with Belfius is a great opportunity to grow its customer base in Belgium – the bank will offer the first health insurance products to its corporate and institutional customers, representing millions of employees.

“This good relationship with Belfius, whose transformation over the past ten years has been truly inspiring, 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 offer more accessible health products to a wider audience,” Alan’s founder and CEO, Jean-Charles Samuelian-Werve, said in a statement.

Since February, Alan has added another 150,000 customers, including the Prime Minister’s office in France. It expects annual recurring revenue to reach €450 million (about $500 million) this year.

However, Alan is not a typical software-as-a-service company, and most of its revenue is set aside to settle insurance claims. However, one thing is certain – the company’s growth does not seem to be slowing down.