South African startup Bi-me is striving to make business insurance processes easier and smoother via its online platform, which makes insurance instant, easy, transparent and affordable for SMEs.

Launched in March 2022, Bi-me – literally “Business Insurance Made Easy” – has developed a platform that connects directly to multiple leading insurers, such as Hollard, iTOO and Discovery Insure, to help users get the best cover and rates.

With Bi-me, businesses can choose from over 4,000 industries and occupations, and customise insurance to meet their needs. Francois Potgieter, managing director at Bi-me, claims the while process, from first click to full cover, can take as little as 10 minutes.

“We allow a customer to obtain actuarially calculated premiums for complex business insurance online from multiple insurance companies and then allow the customer to purchase the cover without human intervention – all real-time,” he said.

“Our purpose is to make insurance simple and accessible for entrepreneurs and small business owners. Your business faces risks ranging from theft of delivery vehicles or office equipment and business interruption due to machine breakdowns, through to liability claims for cyber breaches or injuries on your property. We help you mitigate the financial losses and legal risks of such incidents.”

The startup’s suite of business insurance solutions includes public liability, professional indemnity, comprehensive business insurance, and cyber liability. The goal is to boost uptake of business insurance products generally.

“The majority of formal small and medium businesses in South Africa are uninsured, underinsured or underserviced, and the customer experience is often lacking. SMBs have struggled with expensive products that are not customised to their needs  and encountered a substandard quoting and claims experience,” Potgieter said.

“It is not uncommon for SMBs to need to engage with multiple brokers and insurers to get all the cover they need, especially in more specialised industries. In other instances, they depend on a single broker, who can’t get them a range of competitive quotes. And the paperwork can be overwhelming.”

For that reason, fewer than a half of South Africa’s 750,000 formal small businesses are insured. 

“That leaves them vulnerable to a range of unforeseen events that could damage their balance sheets or their ability to operate. We founded Bi-Me to address this gap. We see no reason why SMB insurance cannot go digital in the same way as personal lines insurance,” said Potgieter.

Bi-me is funded through capital from South African corporate investors. 

“One of our major investors, BizCover Australia, was founded by South Africans and has become a household name in Australia. We’re leveraging off their technology and experience. We have, to date, launched four bespoke products on our platform and are starting to gain traction,” Potgieter said.

“We have seen exponential growth since launch in March 2022, with one in five customers that get a quote continuing to purchase insurance via our platform. Our success lies in being customer obsessed and continuously developing, enhancing and simplifying the customer journey in partnership with our underwriters.”

The startup’s online platform offers cover to small businesses that range from sole traders and startups to well-established SMBs. Potgieter said it is constantly adding new products and occupations to the list, with plans to launch contractors all-risk and event liability insurance soon. 

“These products enable us to reach industries that may not had access to the specialised cover they require,” he said.

“We are also growing our distribution network by partnering with fintechs, retailers and ecommerce websites, company registration portals, platform players and other registration bodies. They can help us to reach new customers and earn commission. We plan to allow them to sell insurance as a white label product or register as referral partners in the future.”