InsurTech companies playing crucial role in taking insurance penetration to the next level

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With over 500 million smartphone users and an insurance penetration at around 3% of GDP, India presents an exciting opportunity for InsurTech companies. Realising the need many insurance unicorns and start-ups aim to simplify insurance by leveraging digital solutions resulting in increased insurance penetration in the country.

Consider this: Digit Insurance, an Indian InsurTech start-up led by a former Allianz chief executive Kamesh Goyal, is now valued at $3.5 billion. It recently raised $200 million in equity capital from existing investor Faering Capital and new investors Sequoia Capital, IIFL Alternate Asset Managers and others. Digit Insurance focuses on selling insurance online and is known to make insurance a simpler and faster experience for customers.

Goyal is an insurance veteran who spent more than six years at Bajaj Allianz, a joint venture between Allianz and Bajaj Finserv. He started as a COO in 2001 and by 2004 was promoted as CEO of the company, the position he held till 2007. He also worked as a head of strategic planning for the entire Allianz Group. His vast experience helped to make insurance simple and jargon-free. The company has gone to the extent of making insurance simplified by 15-year-old kids.

The business strategy of Digital Insurance is to create partnerships where it can integrate to sell insurance alongside products at the point of sale. It is known for selling mobile and travel insurance at the point of sale, reducing the turnaround time.

Similarly, BimaPe, a Mumbai-based InsurTech startup has recently raised pre-seed capital led by venture capital firm Lightspeed. Titan Capital, iSeed and Gemba Capital also participated in the round. Founded in October 2020 by Rahul Mathur, a 23-year-old young professional who left his well-cushioned job in London, aims to put family’s insurance on autopilot. It has also got a broking licence from IRDAI and will be soon offering customised services. “We currently have 13,000 users signed up on BimaPe. We have got IRDAI broking licence and we plan to sell customised plans to our customers. We also plan to bring a single payment facility for all policies,” said Rahul Mathur, founder and CEO of BimaPe.

Another InsurTech company Plum, a young startup recently raised $15.6 million in its Series A funding for making insurance easier and more affordable for start-ups. The Sequoia-backed company helps organisations manage employee health insurance & health benefit plans. The company was founded in 2019 and has since then onboarded over 500 companies. These companies include startups like Groww, CleverTap, Fampay, StayAbode, RevvSales, Swiflearn, among others. From issuing policies to online claim settlements, Plum Insurance provides end to end seamless online services to its clients.