Nayya raises $10 million to guide employee health benefits decisions with AI

Nayya, an insurance benefits management platform, today announced it has closed $11 million in a series A round led by Felicis Ventures. Nayya says the funds will be put toward product research and development as it seeks to acquire new talent and customers.

Employees are often confused by the health benefits selection process, according to a report commissioned by IT firm Jellyvision. Almost half (49%) say that making health insurance decisions is always “very stressful” for them, while 41% feel the open enrollment process at their company is “extremely confusing,” and 20% regret the benefits choices they make.

Sina Chehrazi and Akash Magoon cofounded Nayya in 2019 to address a few of these health plan challenges. For the employees of corporations that sign up with Nayya, the platform provides personalized recommendations for medical, ancillary, and voluntary or worksite plan selection, taking risk factors into account to deliver insights.

Nayya asks employees a series of questions about their lifestyles, locations, and more, as well as whether they take medication regularly or expect their health care costs to go up. Then, the platform presents them with various plans from their employer that might match their budget and needs.

Nayya claims to use over 3 billion consumer data points, a network of medical carrier integrations, and 120 million lines of claims data to identify the right benefits for employees. Lifestyle, finances, and family attributes are among the factors the platform considers in guiding employees to benefits. These factors also inform the platform’s claim filing, prescription transfer, and in-network care recommendations, plus its hints about how to save, manage, and using spending accounts.

Nayya says it saves employees $1,300 annually, on average, and decreases questions related to benefits and enrollment by 82%.

According to Nayya, the pandemic has led to a rise in sign-ups for voluntary and ancillary benefits, with 40% more employees opting for voluntary benefits. Moreover, there’s been a spike in health savings account (HSA) participation, with over 80% of eligible employees now enrolled in an HSA with an average contribution of over $1,400 per year — the highest number on record.

“Selecting the right insurance can be a difficult and costly process, particularly with added concerns and health risks brought on by the pandemic,” cofounder and CEO Sina Chehrazi said in a statement. “Our investors recognize the power behind Nayya’s technology to harness the massive proliferation of data produced across the health care and insurance industries. It’s data that Nayya leverages to highlight and manage plans that best match individual needs, at the same time putting dollars back into American households at a time they need it most.”

Social Leverage, Guardian Life, Cameron Ventures, and Unum Business Ventures participated in the funding round announced today. It brings the New York-based company’s total raised to over $10 million.