There has been a steady rise in no of insurtech unicorns with over 20 Unicorns in 2021, 14 in United States, 4 in UK, 2 each in India (Acko & Digit Insurance ) & France , 1 each in Austria, Israel & Mexico
Jitesh Shah, MD & Partner BCG Asia Pacific Lead, Operations in Financial Institutions at BCG said “As the sector experiences unprecedented growth, it is critical to continue collaboration between insurers and insurtechs. To ensure that the sector experiences continued growth, there is a need for key enablers such as the National Health Stack, regulatory sandbox and Insurance Information Bureau”
New Delhi:
Insurtech funding in India has soared in the last two years, from $290 million in 2020 to $ 800 million in 2021, according to a report.
There has been a steady rise in no of insurtech unicorns with over 20 Unicorns in 2021, 14 in United States, 4 in UK, 2 each in India (Acko & Digit Insurance ) & France , 1 each in Austria , Israel & Mexico
According to “The India Insurtech Landscape and Trends Report” collaborated by India Insur Tech Association (IIA) and international consultant BCG, Insurtechs in India are well-positioned to cater to the nuanced needs of customers and are at the cusp of exponential growth.
Jitesh Shah, MD & Partner BCG Asia Pacific Lead, Operations in Financial Institutions at BCG said “As the sector experiences unprecedented growth, it is critical to continue collaboration between insurers and insurtechs. It is also important for the industry to keep innovating to address important issues such as deeper insurance penetration, customer health and wellness, etc. To ensure that the sector experiences continued growth, there is a need for key enablers such as the National Health Stack, regulatory sandbox and Insurance Information Bureau.”
Meanwhile,Onsurity, India’s first tech-led monthly subscription-based employee health benefits platform, has won the “Insurtech Debutante Company of the year” award at the India Insurtech Association (IIA) Insurtech Awards for 2022 for initiating innovative practices to bring a change in the way India Inc, especially start-ups and SMEs, subscribe for their health and wellness needs.
Yogesh Agarwal, Founder & CEO of Onsurity received the award from G Srinivasan, director- National Insurance Academy at a gala event organised by IIA on April 22.
The report succinctly draws out the key challenges as seen through the lens of industry stakeholders and highlights the key imperatives for creating a robust and deep insurtech ecosystem in India.
Regulators and government bodies have also been supporting innovation and transformation in the Indian insurance industry.
IRDAI has played an active role in supporting innovation in the industry. The recent regulatory sandbox is a crucial milestone in this regard and saw participation by more than 22 insurers who submitted more than 170 proposals.
Further impetus has been provided by the launch of National Health Stack.Insurers and Insurtechs can work with regulatory bodies and government agencies to continue to strengthen some of these platforms for further experiments.
Key trends defining the growth of the Indian insurance industry
-SME is emerging as a key customer segment
-Affordable healthcare for employees of small and medium enterprises remains an unaddressed segment. There is an opportunity to provide holistic health and wellness and enable SMEs to improve employee retention
-Thrust for employer /Group insurance for large no of emerging SMEs by customising offerings focussed at providing affordable solutions
-Data and analytics as core capabilities: Leveraging data & analytics to drive operational efficiencies, Enhance pricing proposition
-Digital data and analytics can no longer be viewed as a capability of the future, are becoming table stakes . There are multiple use cases across the value chain to help drive innovation and personalisation
Importance of higher distribution penetration and reach
-Insurance penetration for health and life products continues to remain low in India vs global distributors.
-In order to increase penetration it is crucial to reimagine distribution through traditional and newer channels and approaches Increasing importance of enhanced customer experience
-Customers are expecting seamless experience as offered by tech disruptors for other key offerings
-Insurers focussing on customer experience are seeing lasting results
-Emphasis on Health insurance through the National Health Stack which has the -opportunity to become a global standard, similar to UPI