Novee AI has raised £1.6m in funding to build the AI intelligence layer for commercial & specialty insurance, helping underwriters assess and process broker submissions through its AI-powered risk assessment platform. The funding round was led by 42Cap, an early-stage B2B SaaS investor, with additional backing from Insurtech Gateway, a leading investor in insurance technology ventures.
“Current vendors often lack flexibility, lose critical context from submissions, and are slow to adapt to underwriting needs. Novee’s system systematically captures how underwriters assess complex risks, embedding years of underwriting experience to add immediate value in weeks. We’re delighted to be working with Haris, Arved and Ehsan. With deep expertise and network in the Insurance market we’re convinced this is the team to execute.”
Dom Nolan, Investment Manager, Insurtech Gateway
The problem
Commercial and specialty underwriters are burdened by manual, repetitive tasks that consume valuable time and limit their ability to write new business. Around 50% of their time is spent finding and assessing information across complex submissions, and only 1 in 5 quoted risks are ultimately bound across certain classes of business. These inefficiencies are compounded at month end, where underwriters often lose several days processing firm orders, time that could be redirected to higher value activities.
The solution
These aren’t new problems, but Novee’s platform solves them in a fundamentally different, underwriter-centric way. It understands the full submission regardless of document format and applies each team’s or underwriter’s unique risk logic, captured in natural language and updated in real time. Submissions are assessed instantly, with contextual insights surfaced directly within underwriting workflows. Novee integrates with existing systems, automating manual tasks and enabling real-time pipeline and portfolio analytics from all captured data.
The result is greater efficiency, faster speed to market, stronger control, and deeper insights with broader assessment coverage, all without changing existing distribution channels.
Why now?
Market conditions are tightening, with downward pressure on premiums pushing teams to do more with less.
Regulatory demands are increasing, requiring auditable, data-driven decisions. And with up to 50 percent of underwriters set to retire in the next five years, insurers must find ways to retain knowledge and scale expertise. Novee is applying LLMs and Agentic AI to transform underwriting from the ground up.
Example use cases include:
- Risk appetite check and submission triage
- Risk assessment decision support
- Contract comparison
- Automated aggregation checks
- Real-time pipeline and portfolio analytics
The team
Novee’s founding team brings deep expertise across AI, data, and insurance. Haris Khan (CEO) and Arved Pohlabeln (CPO), both former Associate Directors at Deloitte, who specialised in AI and data transformation for Commercial & Specialty insurers. They saw first-hand the inefficiencies and lack of data visibility facing underwriting teams. They teamed up with Ehsan Ziya (CTO), former Staff Software Engineer at Tractable, who built AI-powered claims assessment systems.
“Novee is building the AI intelligence layer for underwriting, giving insurers the speed, clarity and control they need to assess complex risks with confidence. With support from 42Cap and Insurtech Gateway, and in close collaboration with leading insurers, we’re not just streamlining underwriting workflows but helping our customers unlock growth and write better business. This funding allows us to accelerate product development, expand across other classes of business and deepen our partnerships with leading insurers.”
Haris Khan, CEO and co-founder of Novee.
Traction
Two leading London Market insurers are actively deploying Novee across Terrorism, Property and Energy lines, showcasing the potential of AI to transform risk assessment and drive growth. Further pilots are progressing with other insurers and MGAs.
Get in touch
If you have an ambitious idea for a SaaS startup that can serve the insurance market we can give you funding and support. Check out our incubator and venture fund or get in touch.