Goldman Sachs and TVS Capital Lead $150 Million Investment in Insurtech InsuranceDekho
The new funds will be utilized to enhance product and technology operations, and to bolster the leadership team
14 February 2023
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Jayashri Ghorpade
Goldman Sachs Asset Management and TVS Capital Funds led a $150 million Series A funding round for insurtech startup InsuranceDekho.
This was its first institutional fundraising round, having previously raised $20 million from CarDekho in 2020.
Despite its large funding, the company has been managed frugally with a small team of 1,400 employees and a cost-efficient B2B business.
InsuranceDekho, an insurtech startup, raised $150 million in Series A funding led by Goldman Sachs Asset Management and TVS Capital Funds. This round, which included participation from Investcorp, Avataar Ventures, and LeapFrog Investments, is the largest ever Series A round for an Indian startup amid the prolonged funding winter. InsuranceDekho, founded in 2016 by Ankit Agrawal and Ish Babbar, is the insurance arm of car-selling unicorn CarDekho.
Agrawal, the CEO and co-founder, declined to comment on the valuation of the recent funding round, but it was estimated at $450-500 million according to a November report by Mint. A source familiar with the details reported that $110 million was equity funding while the rest was debt funding.
Agrawal said, “With this funding, we want to build for Bharat and take our distribution to another 300-400 cities, continue building our tech stack and products, work on branding, and look at a couple of mergers and acquisitions opportunities that we have identified across technology and geography expansion capabilities.”
The Gurugram-based startup aims to expand its MSME and life insurance offerings and is testing new offerings, including insurance products for house helps. This was its first institutional fundraising round, having previously raised $20 million from CarDekho in 2020. Despite its large funding, the company has been managed frugally with a small team of 1,400 employees and a cost-efficient B2B business.
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InsuranceDekho's co-founder and CTO, Ish Babbar, stated that the company is seeking innovative solutions to tackle complex insurance distribution in India. The funds raised will be used to enhance customer experience through deployment of data analytics, AI, claims management, and last-mile servicing. Goldman Sachs Asset Management's Managing Director, Rajat Sood, praised InsuranceDekho for its success in bringing new-to-insurance channel partners to their platform and empowering them through technology-based solutions.
InsuranceDekho, present in over 1,300 towns across India, mostly generates revenue from motor, health, and life insurance. With a focus on Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and beyond, its top geographies include Ranchi, Jamshedpur, Nashik, Nagpur, and more. Although Agrawal did not reveal its revenue run rate for FY23, he stated that the company's annualized premium run rate will reach Rs 3,600 crore by March 2023 and Rs 4,500 crore by the end of FY24. InsuranceDekho earns a commission of 25-30% from its insurance partners, who offer around 380 products through its platform.
A source stated that InsuranceDekho receives a quarter of the premium commission and the rest goes to the insurance advisor. The startup, which currently has 50 lakh customers and a network of 80,000 insurance advisors, partners with companies such as HDFC Ergo, ICICI Lombard, Acko, LIC, and Future Generali Life Insurance. Their goal is to expand their network to 200,000 advisors by 2023.
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