EP 74 – Firras Sabbah – CEO and co-Founder Go! Insurance – Digital Health Insurance

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Michael Waitze worked in Global Finance for more than 20 years, employed by firms like Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, primarily in Tokyo.  Michael lived and worked in Tokyo from February 1990 until December 2011.  Michael always maintained a particular focus on how technology could be used to make businesses more efficient and to drive P/L growth. Michael is a leader in the digital media space, building one of the biggest and fastest-growing podcast listener bases in the region.  His AsiaTechPodcast.com show has listeners in more than 170 countries and his company, Michael Waitze Media produces some of Asia’s most popular podcasts.

CEO / Co-Founder Go! Insurance. Previously, CIO and Head of Digital Platforms Allianz. Several roles at Allianz Germany and Allianz Singapore and the Co-Founder Food-Startup in Germany.

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In this episode, Michael Waitze talks to Firras Sabbah, the founder of Go! Insurance. Firras started his career in insurance with German insurer Allianz and was the CIO of Allianz General Insurance Thailand. Experiencing the problems insurance incumbents are facing first hand, he decided to start Go! Insurance. While Go!’s first concept was around motor insurance, Firras has shifted towards digital health insurance and health ecosystems. 

Startups in the insurance space still find major opportunities in this massive market even during a global pandemic. Michael and Firras are chatting about the recent IPO of US insurer Lemonade and the implication on the global InsurTech landscape. Despite still operating at a loss and filing for an IPO in the middle of the US COVID crisis, Lemonade exceeded many expectations. Good news for Go! which is currently partnering with Krungthai Panich Insurance for their underwriting but has plans to become a full-stack licensed insurer. 

Go! wants to tap into the health insurance market in Thailand and enable more people to get access to affordable health insurance. The idea is to demystify coverages and streamline the buying process. The startup is leveraging technology to simplify the customer journey, personalize services, and make products and features easy to understand. Customers will be able to buy health insurance plans in 4-5 minutes which is a first in Thailand. 

If you want to learn more about the Thai InsurTech landscape, listen to our roundtable with 4 Thai-based InsurTechs here.

Other companies mentioned in this episode: SingLife, NIA, BOI, OIC, Wefox, Alan, Oscar

This episode is brought to you by

To get in touch with the Uncharted team, email them at info@uncharted.global

The audio on this episode was expertly edited and produced by the talented Alanis Braun.  You can see her portfolio here and her LinkedIn profile here.

The music on this episode was created by Jay Man and is called “Soaring”.

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