Determined disruptor: Naby Mariyam
G
rowing up in the Indian Ocean nation of Maldives and achieving certification at Le Cordon Bleu isn’t an obvious path to founding an insurance business. But that’s exactly what Naby Mariyam did when she created Sydney-based Coverhero. The insurtech’s inaugural Hustle income protection product is designed to meet the needs of a growing casualised workforce, targeting “dreamers, influencers, entrepreneurs, Airbnb hosts, gig workers, business owners and Uber drivers”. Although it’s very early days, Coverhero’s effervescent boss is serious about capturing the income cover niche with Hustle, and ranks 99th on the Insurtech 100 list compiled by market intelligence platform Sonr. As an enthusiastic and high-profile participant in the local insurtech scene, Ms Mariyam is Coverhero’s most valuable asset, building awareness of the company, its products and her aspirations to make a big difference. Her company is an authorised representative of Sydney-based financial services advisory firm Enva Australia, and is underwritten by underwriting agency Agile Insurance. As the brand name indicates, Coverhero isn’t aimed at the conservative side of town. Comparing itself with traditional insurers, its website says “the majority of [their] tech is like them, super-old”, and that insurers’ efforts to change “is like trying to turn the Titanic” while “we are on jet-skis”.
38
insuranceNEWS
October/November 2020
