Insurtech Part 3: Emerging Insurtech models in India

If you haven’t read our previous two articles on Part 1: What is Insurtech and Reason of Growth and Part 2: How Insurtech is reshaping the global insurance market, please give it a go. We highly recommend you to read these articles in addition to this one to get a better understanding about Insurtech in India as well globally.

Key features of most of the emerging Insurtech startups in India

  • PROMOTING USAGE BASED INSURANCE– Wearable technology such as fitbit, Apple watch or Samsung gear is undoubtedly the new buzz in town. They have the potential to aid usage-based insurance. Large insurance companies have started using personalized data from these small wearable and fashionable devices to decide premium rates for your driving skills, and as a result, give you discounts if you follow a regular workout routine, etc.
  • INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS – Promoting customized products as per individual needs and discovering new methods of pricing them effectively.
  • ONLINE COVERAGE, WIDER REACH –In a fast-paced world, it is very important to have an online presence and reach to build a faster connection with the client. It results in lower costs due to lesser land acquisition, low manpower requirements, etc.
  • JOINT VENTURE WITH E-COMMERCE GIANTS– Some Insurtech startups have ventured with e-commerce giants such as Amazon to provide point of sale insurance for various products to its customers.

So, let us understand how these features are put to work by the companies by looking at five innovative recent Insurtech startups in India.

Some of new and Emerging Insurtech models and technologies in India

DIGIT INSURANCE

  • This is a general insurance company which claims to make insurance products easier and simpler to understand by customers.
  • Fairfax, one of the largest insurance companies in the world having operations in over 30 countries backs Digit insurance.
  • They not only sell insurance online but also make people aware about the latest issues through their blog. For example, an article was uploaded on the safety measures to be taken by CNG car holders to prevent fire accidents.
  • It is a company which claims to settle claims within 10 to 20 minutes over a phone call. Now it is targeting to reduce the claim settlement time to 7 minutes.
  • It aims to make buying and selling of insurance products completely digitized for Indian consumers.
  • The company has also come up with innovative products like jewelry insurance, insurance against flight delays.
  • Over mobile, the company is settling over 20 claims per day at present.
  • The company sells car insurance, travel insurance, health insurance, mobile insurance, etc.
  • They have a user-friendly interactive website to engage customers asking them to get quote for their individual needs.

COVERFOX

  • Coverfox Insurance Broking Pvt Ltd provides insurance brokerage services online. It offers two wheeler, car,  health insurance, term plans, life, and general insurance products.
  • Incorporated in 2013, the company is based in Mumbai.
  • In 2017, it won Coolest startup of the year award.
  • The company have tie ups with major insurers and explain all technical words in policy in simple and plain English. They assist the customers in claims management.
  • They will pick your car up, get it serviced, do all the documentation themselves and fight for your claims with the insurers they have tie ups with.
  • Many renowned companies like International Finance Corporation,  Transamerica, Accel partners, etc. have backed Coverfox insurance
  • They simply make money by getting brokerage commission from the insurers whose policies they sell.

ACKO GENERAL INSURANCE COMPANY

  • Acko General Insurance is a private sector general insurance company in India.
  • It is an online insurer selling
  • They partnered with Ola cabs to provide in trip insurance to the commuters.
  • It also partnered with Amazon to sell mobile insurance to retail customers through the e-commerce platform at the time of purchasing a new mobile.
  • Further, its investors are Amazon, Accel partners, SAIF partners .
  • It has products such as bike insurance, car insurance, mobile insurance, travel insurance.
  • It also covers damages to your bike due to natural calamities or riots.

POLICYBAZAAR

  • Policybazaar is an IRDAI approved web aggregator for comparing different insurance policies such as car insurance, bike insurance, term plans, endowment options.
  • The company was founded in 2008 in Gurugram, Haryana.
  • Customers can get an online quote and compare similar insurance products from different companies, for instance, by seeing their claim paid ratio, premiums, add on benefits, etc.
  • You need to register on their site with your phone number. After that, the customer process executives will call you up to assist you in the process of buying insurance.
  • They also undertake financial and insurance literacy workshops in different segments of their market. This helps them to connect with their customers on the ground level.

TOFFEE INSURANCE

  • Toffee insurance provides bite-sized, customizable, digitized, easy to understand insurance policies built to fit your lifestyle.
  • They work with major insurance companies to offer bite-sized insurance for everyday moments.
  • For instance, some of the unique products offered by them are dengue insurance (pay around Rs 600 annually to cover yourself against hospitalization expenses), comprehensive international travel insurance covering all the countries for a period of 1-80 days, home renter /owner insurance to insure your belongings against fire /theft and damage, daily commuter insurance for accidental injuries while traveling in any vehicle, fitness insurance against injuries due to running, cycling, gyming and more.

Coming up next Insuretech Part 4: How can traditional insurance companies benefit from integrating Insurtech technologies from current models?

Meanwhile, Stay tuned!

Anmol Kaur has shared this article with us. We urge you to share your views and feedback with her.

This article is published by Jinal Shah.

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About the Author

Anmol Kaur

Anmol Kaur is an actuarial graduate working as a Business Analyst(Actuarial) in a leading MNC. With a quest to learn more, she is looking forward to become a fellow of both The UK Actuarial Society (IFoA) and Insurance Institute of India (III) which she believes will provide her an edge over her actuarial career in India.

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