Insurtech start-up Zopper raises $75 million in series C funding

Insuretech player Zopper has raised $75 million in series C funding  led by Creaegis, with participation from ICICI Venture and Bessemer Venture Partners

Funding was raised to double down on growth, revealed Surjendu Kuila, co-founder and CEO of Zopper.

Investments will be used to bolster the firm’s technology team to help ecosystem partners distribute insurance in a technologically seamless way, he said. “Data analytics will help us push the next frontier of innovations in the insurtech space,” added Kuila.

Insurance penetration in India has seen an increase in recent years, jumping from 3.76 per cent in 2019-20 to 4.20 per cent in 2020-2021, according to IRDAI data. However, this is still much below the global average of 7.4 per cent. Penetration in rural areas is even worse.

"Data generated from all our partnerships will enable us to grab a higher share of wallet from customers and. In turn, help the client make an additional ten to fifteen per cent bonus on top of what they currently rake in,” said Kuila.

Zopper, whose last funding round took place eight years ago in 2014, is also looking to expand to other geographies, amid rising demand from global players to use their platform. “We are looking to deploy our products in a couple of other geographies in this fiscal year or the first quarter of the next fiscal year,” said Kuila.

The firm further signalled a foray into acquisitions. “Over the last five or six months, we have been looking at multiple companies in various sectors that can bring in complimentary skills and help us in distributing specific products,” said Kuila.

Zopper is a B2B2C company that works with more than 150 partners. The firm sells around 3.5 lakh policies per month (around 40 lakh policies annually) and operates in roughly 1,200 cities.

Zopper notably reached $100 million in annualized insurance premiums in March this year. “We have increased this figure by around 30 per cent until now and we plan to double it in this fiscal year. If everything goes right, we will reach north of $200 million by the end of the fiscal year,” said Kuila.

“We intend to reach $500 million in annualized premiums by March 2024 and $1 billion by FY 2026, depending on how the industry grows,” he added.

Currently, there are 57 insurance companies in India- 24 in the life insurance sector and the others in non-life insurance businesses.

“Insurance is fairly new in India. Our low insurance penetration can, however, be increased using technology. Today, insurers do not go beyond metro and satellite cities due to the lack of economic viability. All companies, therefore, go after the top ten to fifteen per cent of the working population,” said Kuila. To reach the “missing middle” who lie outside the protective boundaries of insurance, in tier 2, tier 3 and tier 4 cities, technology is paramount, he says.

“Today, the biggest challenge for insurance providers is how to distribute insurance to the last mile in an economically feasible way. That can only be achieved through technology,” he added.

According to the 2022 State of Indian Startup Ecosystem report by Inc42, insurtech start-ups are estimated to account for 26 per cent of total fintech investments by 2025, with a market opportunity of $339 billion. The sector is projected to grow at a 3-year-CAGR of 57 per cent, making it the fastest growing fintech sub-segment.

Haitong Securities was the investment banker for the transaction.