{"id":341907,"date":"2017-05-25T13:31:18","date_gmt":"2017-05-25T05:31:18","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/techcrunch.com\/?p=1495524"},"modified":"2017-05-25T13:31:18","modified_gmt":"2017-05-25T05:31:18","slug":"acko-is-an-ambitious-digital-play-to-disrupt-indias-10b-insurance-industry","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/acko-is-an-ambitious-digital-play-to-disrupt-indias-10b-insurance-industry\/","title":{"rendered":"Acko is an ambitious digital play to disrupt India\u2019s $10B insurance industry"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>\n

Acko<\/a> is an under-the-radar startup that wants to disrupt India\u2019s insurance industry through a digital-only model. This week it stuck its head above the parapet and announced that it has raised $30 million to get started on its bold plan.<\/p>\n

Founded by Varun Dua, the man behind\u00a0insurance comparison site\u00a0Coverfox<\/a>, Acko is designed as a wholly digital take on insurance in India. The company is\u00a0an independent general insurance\u00a0provider that is wholly digital.\u00a0Beyond operating online and without the expense of a brick and mortar footprint, Acko is aiming to unbundle insurance in India to make it both more affordable and relevant to consumers.<\/p>\n

\u201cIndia is a fairly nascent insurance market [with the same]\u00a0traditional carriers that we\u2019ve seen for decades,\u201d CEO Dua told TechCrunch in an interview. \u201cAcko will be the first internet-only carrier.\u201d<\/p>\n

Taking insurance in India online<\/h2>\n

Inspired by models such as Lemonade and Oscar Health in the U.S. and Direct Line in the UK, Dua sees a huge opportunity to tap into\u00a0digital to\u00a0take a shot at the current market \u2014 which is estimated to be worth over $10 billion annually<\/a>\u00a0\u2014 and reach\u00a0a new segment of consumers who have been left out to date.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe system of\u00a0distribution in India does not provide information on the user at all. There\u2019s not enough data to underwrite accurately on a real-time basis,\u201d Dua\u00a0said. \u201cSales are mostly offline and flat pricing, usually [insurance firms] don\u2019t know much about a customer before underwriting him.<\/p>\n

The Acko CEO\u00a0believes his firm can offer a 30-40 percent discount\u00a0on incumbents by pricing its policies more accurately by gathering\u00a0information and data online. That\u2019s in addition to cost savings by operating without a physical presence.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe will probably start off taking away existing [insurance rivals\u2019] customers,\u201d he added. \u201cIt\u2019s a relatively easier market because people are moving online year on year. That gives us the early pickings, [but we] will probably be launching smaller and unique products that don\u2019t exist today later.\u201d<\/p>\n

In particular, he foresees opportunity around segment-specific insurance policies that can be sold online. That could include, for example, pregnancy insurance, or policies for ride-sharing companies. Beyond selling on the Acko website, the plan is to link arms with partners who already have relationships with consumers \u2014\u00a0for example an e-commerce store selling baby items, or the ride-sharing firm itself.<\/p>\n

In a recent report,<\/a> EY forecast that India\u2019s insurance market is \u201cpoised for a strong growth\u201d despite concerns around reaching new customers:<\/p>\n

\n

Despite strong improvement in penetration and density in the last 10 years, India largely remains an under-penetrated market. The market today is primarily dependent on push, tax incentives and mandatory buying for sales. There is very little customer pull, which will come from growing financial awareness and increasing savings and disposable income.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That\u2019s a major\u00a0focus for Acko.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe want to make insurance so straightforward that consumers don\u2019t need to talk to multiple people to get advice or fill up forms. Consumers should be able to access low prices in one click based on their risk profile, and be confident that at a press of a button \u2014 their claim will get paid in the fastest possible time,\u201d Dua added in a statement.<\/p>\n

Big name backers and big plans<\/h2>\n

To get started, Acko has raised $30 million from a range of top names that include VC firms Accel, SAIF Partners and Catamaran Ventures. Its angel investors include Venk Krishnan and Subba Rao of NuVentures, Infosys co-founder Kris Gopalakrishnan, Hemendra Kothari of DSP Blackrock, founder and chairman of Hexaware Atul Nishar, and ex-investment baker and Arpwood Capital founder Rajeev Gupta.<\/p>\n

Beyond that, Dua teased that there are undisclosed \u201cglobal insurance groups\u201d that own a stake of the business. Their names won\u2019t be revealed for another month or so, but their presence has helped give the startup credibility in an industry that values corporate institutions.<\/p>\n

Acko has received an R1 license and is currently awaiting\u00a0its\u00a0R2 license which has been applied for with India\u2019s\u00a0insurance authority. Dua anticipates that the final nod should come within three months, leaving the company ready to open its doors and launch products for consumers before the end of September this year.<\/p>\n

The initial plan is to be active in three or four cities until Acko has shown that\u00a0\u201cthe claims pieces is something we able to control and optimize,\u201d according to Dua.<\/p>\n

The team, which is currently around 20 people, is likely to grow to 45-50 by the year end, to help Dua hit his ambitious targets.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe believe we should do close to $40 million in premiums over first year,\u201d Dua said. \u201cOn a five-year perspective, we would\u00a0love to reach anything from $500 million in premiums.\u201d<\/p>\n

Featured Image: Komar<\/a>\/Shutterstock<\/a><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\"\" Acko is an under-the-radar startup that wants to disrupt India’s insurance industry through a digital-only model. This week it stuck its head above the parapet and announced that it has raised $30 million to get started on its bold plan. Founded by Varun Dua, the man behind\u00a0insurance comparison site\u00a0Coverfox, Acko is designed as a wholly digital take on insurance in India. The… Read More<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a> <\/img><\/a>\n<\/div>\n

\"\"\/ <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5817,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[59,66,26],"class_list":["post-341907","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology","tag-media","tag-techcrunch","tag-technology"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341907","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5817"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=341907"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/341907\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=341907"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=341907"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/people.utm.my\/asmawisham\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=341907"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}