Coherent secures investment from Cathay Innovation and Franklin Templeton

By Edil Corneille

Coherent, a provider of digital platforms to insurers, today confirmed a US$14 million Series A funding round led by global VC fund Cathay Innovation, with participation from Franklin Templeton. The funds will fuel the InsurTech start-up to expand its Asia presence, increase customer reach and scale its business which is on track to grow four times in revenue by the end of FY 2020, as reported by Coherent.

“The insurance sector today has a unique opportunity to accelerate growth to new levels but also faces a historic challenge as legacy systems have created a vortex of process pain for insurers which have slowed their potential to innovate and fully harness the vast distribution scale they possess,” said John Brisco, CEO, Coherent. “Coherent will empower insurers to unlock that potential with our digital platforms and data intelligence engines to help them develop at speed, sell with ease and engage with precision.”

Founded in Hong Kong, Coherent’s mission is to provide digital platforms and data intelligence engines to help large and growing insurers evolve their business and processes to meet the demands of the post-COVID future of insurance.

“As a VC global investor, we are convinced of the opportunities offered by digital platforms and data intelligence to shape the future of insurance,” said Nicolas Ducray, Partner at Cathay Innovation. “Cathay Innovation’s lead investor role in Coherent’s financing round is part of a longstanding strategy of investing in leading fintechs and insurtechs to support their scale-up journey. We look forward to working with Coherent’s fantastic management team to expand their footprint and positively impact the evolving insurance sector”.

Swiss Re predicts that there will be a strong V-shaped recovery in the global insurance market within 2021, returning to pre-pandemic levels. This is particularly evident in emerging Asia, where insurance premiums are forecast to grow 7 per cent in 2021.

Harshendu Bindal, Head of Digital Strategy and Wealth Management at Franklin Templeton said, “…we are also delighted to be their exclusive asset management partner as they expand their business in Asia. This synergistic partnership will provide opportunities for Franklin Templeton to use our multi-asset capabilities to design and implement investment solutions integrated with their platform to fulfil the needs for insurers who are increasingly focusing on end-customer outcomes and evolving their value propositions. It underscores Franklin Templeton’s ongoing commitment in using technology and our experience to help financial institutions digitize their client experience and sales process.”

Coherent will add technology and actuarial talent to its growing workforce at its current offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Shanghai and Manila plus hire new teams in Japan, USA and Thailand. The increased reach will also extend its customer portfolio which currently covers large insurers in Hong Kong, Singapore, Indonesia, Mainland China, Japan, the Philippines, Thailand, Brazil and Myanmar.