Over-60s health startup Lateral has secured £2.5m in seed funding from UK backers.
The funding round was led by UK fintech investor Augmentum with support from Triple Point and TinyVC.
Lateral, a nine-strong team, said it has identified a gap in the market among the over 14m people in the UK aged 60 and above who need healthcare and financial wellness guidance.
The startup was founded by Laura Ashforth, former managing director at insurtech unicorn Zego, and Steven Mendel, co-founder and former chief executive of pet health unicorn ManyPets.
Ashforth said: “We’re on a mission to empower over 60s to live well for longer, helping them navigate the complicated world of retirement by offering them an affordable range of products expertly created just for them.
“Many people find the health system increasingly hard to navigate as they get older.
“Lateral is designed to help members understand their options and make informed choices about care, while also embedding evidence-based preventative approaches, such as an annual health check, to support proactive engagement with their health.”
The funding will support the rollout of Lateral’s first product, the Lateral Health Plan, which combines financial cover for private healthcare, care navigation and “stay-healthy benefits” in one policy.
Lateral said central to the plan is a nurse-led navigation service designed to help users make informed decisions and get the most from their healthcare, including NHS and private options.
Run by qualified case-management nurses, the service includes NHS and private care and offers personalised support to help members understand their diagnosis and explore the best treatment pathways, the startup said.
Its founders said a key attraction of the plan is its focus on simple and transparent pricing.
Mendel said: “People are living longer and with more active lives, yet the systems designed to support them haven’t kept up.
“For far too long, insurers have viewed people over 60 as old, immobile, and liable to injury.
“The reality is that many people in their 60s and 70s are fitter and more active than ever.
“For them, retirement is a chance to do more, not less.”
