New York-based Goldman Sachs Asset Management and homegrown mid-market private-equity firm TVS Capital Funds led a $150-million (about ₹1,240-crore) investment in InsuranceDekho in the largest Series A round of funding by an insurtech startup in India.
Investcorp, Avataar Ventures and LeapFrog Investments also took part in the fundraise by the insurance unit of used-car platform CarDekho.
The fundraise comprised about $110 million in equity, and the remainder $40 million in debt.
The company did not identify the debt investors.
In November, VCCircle had first reported that Goldman Sachs and TVS Capital were likely to lead InsuranceDekho’s first external funding round that is likely to value the firm at $450-500 million. The firm’s valuation in the latest round could not be immediately ascertained.
“We need to go beyond urban regions when it comes to insurance penetration in the country. We are expanding our reach and will continue to build on our tech-based solutions and empowered advisors so that they can serve every village and region of India by the end of the year,” said Ankit Agrawal, co-founder and chief executive officer at InsuranceDekho.
The startup plans to use the fresh capital to develop data analytics, artificial intelligence (AI), last-mile servicing and claims besides management capability, chief technology officer Ish Babbar said.
Launched in 2019, InsuranceDekho earns about 82% of its premium from Tier-II cities and beyond.
It competes with the likes of Acko, Turtlemint and PolicyBazaar. It claims to be present in about 1,300 towns, with direct integration with 46 insurance companies in India, offering over 380 insurance products, including 175 products for health and life.
The fundraise by InsuranceDekho will come as a major boost to the Indian insurtech industry.
Equity fundraising by insurtech firms fell about 39% in 2022 though industry experts said that this year may mark a revival.
Experts also said that the insurtech sector is hopeful of attracting renewed investor attention this year, fuelled by deeper digital penetration and growth estimates, as new-age and traditional insurers look to raise fresh capital, VCCircle reported earlier.
Insurtech startups raised about $534.2 million in FY22, lower than the $880.8 million in 2021, showed data from researcher Traxcn.
To be sure, the sector has seen a more than 50% jump in investments over the last five years from $354 million in 2018.
Last month, VCCircle reported that in addition to the new-age insurtech firms such as Acko and Turtlemint, traditional firms such as Warburg Pincus-backed IndiaFirst Life Insurance and Religare Enterprises (for its health insurance business), are in talks with investors to raise capital with the market expected to score a rebound this year.
Haitong Securities India acted as the investment bank to the fundraise by InsuranceDekho.
In an earlier interview, Amit Jain, co-founder and CEO at CarDekho said he was bullish on InsuranceDekho, which is operated by Girnar Insurance Brokers Pvt. Ltd.
“The insurance business is near breakeven and is expected to double this year. The premium of insurances will stand at more than ₹180 crore, with health and life making up for about 22% of the business,” Jain said at the time.
In the financial year ended March 2022, InsuranceDekho posted operating revenue of ₹47.9 crore, up from ₹29.7 crore in FY21. However, net loss ballooned to ₹72.3 crore from ₹46.4 crore during the period.
