RenewBuy raises another $10 million equity, plans international foray

Kolkata: Keeping international foray in mind, digital insurance marketplace RenewBuy has raised $10 million in equity from India-focused private equity platform Evolvence India Fund.

This comes close on the heels of a $45 million capital infusion led by Apis Partners and is part of the firm's third round of equity raising.

"We now have sufficient capital for domestic expansion,” RenewBuy chief executive Balachander Sekhar told ET. “With strong capital back-up, this is the right time to take a plunge into the international markets. Overseas foray has been on our mind for quite some time.'

RenewBuy is earmarking $10-15 million for its international foray. It is targeting the Middle East markets to begin with. A footprint in Southeast Asia and Africa has been on its radar too.

The Middle East has a similar market structure like ours with a dominant agent system, Sekhar said.

Founded in 2015, RenewBuy sells third-party motor, health and life insurance products through its subsidiary D2C Insurance Broking. The sector regulator Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irda) recently slapped a Rs 1 crore penalty on the firm for soliciting insurance online using the brand RenewBuy without clearly displaying the broker’s name on the website.

Sekhar said the fund raised would also help RenewBuy to strengthen its technology backbone to provide a greater digital experience to the consumers, through its insurance advisors on the field. It is also looking to develop AI-driven customer support and claim settlement process.

"We are happy to announce the partnership with Evolvence, which is known for its investments across global markets and especially, Middle East markets," Sekhar said.

In June, Apis Partners LLP of the UK, Lok Capital and IIFL Asset Management together invested $45 million (about Rs 330 crore) in the company.

RenewBuy caters to 2.5 million customers through its 50,000-odd field agents. It collected a premium of nearly Rs 700 crore in FY21, which was 25 per cent more than the previous fiscal. Premium collection in the June quarter was around Rs 200 crore.

The firm plans to grow its agent base to 200,000 over the next five years.

India’s insurance penetration, although rose to 3.76 per cent in 2019 from 2.71 per cent in 2001, is still lower when compared to Asian economies such as Malaysia, Thailand and China at 4.72 per cent, 4.99 per cent and 4.30 per cent respectively.