Harper insurance, a UK-based insurtech startup, has secured $47 million in fresh capital to accelerate its vision of transforming commercial insurance through artificial intelligence. The Series B funding round, led by Nationwide Ventures, with support from existing backers including Global Founders Capital, Seedcamp, and EQT Ventures, underscores investor confidence in Harper’s approach to simplifying and modernising a traditionally complex industry. With this infusion of funds, the company plans to scale its AI-powered underwriting and claims solutions, expand into new markets, and build deeper strategic partnerships with brokers and insurers globally.
Author : Aashiya Jain | EQmint | FinTech News
Introduction: Who Is Harper?
In an industry often characterised by paper forms, legacy systems and slow digital adoption, Harper stands out as a fresh and ambitious challenger. Founded in 2017 by Benjie Miles and Hugo Geissler, Harper began with a simple mission: make business insurance easier, fairer, and more accessible for companies of all sizes. The founders saw a glaring gap while consumers had benefitted from digital innovation in sectors such as banking, retail and transport, small and medium enterprises (SMEs) were still navigating clunky insurance processes that felt outdated in a modern digital age.
Headquartered in London, Harper combines deep insurance expertise with cutting-edge technology. At its core is an AI-powered underwriting engine that processes data more intelligently than traditional systems, allowing for faster, more accurate risk assessment. Instead of waiting days for quotes and approvals, businesses can get insurance decisions in real time a major improvement in an industry where speed matters.
The Funding Round: Details and Strategic Backers
In late February 2026 Harper announced it had closed a $47 million Series B fundraising round. The lead investor was Nationwide Ventures the venture capital arm of UK mutual insurer Nationwide Group. A strategic partner that brings industry credibility and deep insurance sector knowledge. Existing investors Global Founders Capital Seedcamp and EQT Ventures also participated in the round reaffirming their belief in Harper’s growth trajectory. This round brings Harper’s total funding to around $70 million reflecting strong capital momentum behind a company still in its early innings.
The participation of Nationwide Ventures is especially noteworthy. Unlike financial investors focused only on returns strategic backers like Nationwide can open doors to distribution channels collaboration opportunities and co-development of products. Potentially accelerating Harper’s market penetration.
What Harper Is Building: AI for Smarter Insurance
Where many insurtech companies focus on improving customer experience at the front end Harper is pushing innovation deeper into the insurance value chain. Traditionally underwriting, the process of assessing risk and pricing insurance policies, relies on outdated methods and limited data Harper’s technology uses machine learning models and natural language processing to analyse complex datasets including business financials industry benchmarks and historical claims patterns.
This approach helps insurers make faster and more accurate risk decisions reduce manual intervention and optimise pricing. For example a small manufacturer seeking liability insurance might normally have to wait days for a quote and provide stacks of paperwork. With Harper’s system much of this information is analysed automatically enabling insurers to deliver competitive quotes quickly.
For brokers this means offering clients better service for insurers reduced processing costs and improved portfolio quality. In addition to underwriting Harper is enhancing claims management with AI capabilities that streamline verification and settlement. By identifying patterns and prioritising high-confidence cases the platform enables faster payouts improving customer satisfaction and lowering operational bottlenecks.
Use of Funds: Growth, Talent and Global Expansion
Harper plans to deploy the $47 million toward three core priorities:
- Product Development: Further refining its AI underwriting and claims automation tools. Harper has invested heavily in building proprietary algorithms that improve with use, enabling more sophisticated risk insights over time.
- Market Expansion: While the company already serves clients in the UK, it has ambitions to scale into continental Europe and North America. These markets present significant growth opportunities, especially in SME insurance where demand for digital solutions is rising.
- Talent Acquisition: Harper will continue growing its team, especially in engineering, data science, and insurance operations. Attracting top talent is key to maintaining technological edge and expanding service capabilities.
A New Era for Insurance?
Harper’s $47 million raise is not just a financing milestone it’s a signal that the industry is ready for a paradigm shift. Investors backing Harper believe that generative AI and intelligent automation can fundamentally improve how business insurance is priced, bought, and managed. For small and medium companies struggling with opaque pricing and slow processes solutions like Harper’s promise a much-needed breath of fresh air.
For insurers and brokers AI presents a chance to modernise legacy systems and offer more responsive services. As the company scales its progress will be watched closely not only by investors but also by traditional insurance players who face disruption from technology-first competitors. In a world that increasingly values digital fluency and data-driven decisions Harper’s blend of AI and insurance expertise may well become a blueprint for the sector’s future.
Harper’s journey shows that innovation doesn’t just come from new ideas it comes from rethinking old systems with smarter technology and a focus on real customer pain points.
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