Acko General Insurance raises USD 30 million

Acko General Insurance on Tuesday received it's in principle regulatory clearance to launch a General Insurance business in India. In a regulated business, Acko raised USD 30 million.

The company is backed by Narayan Murthy's Catamaran Ventures, Venk Krishnan and Subba Rao of NuVentures, Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder Infosys, Hemendra Kothari of DSP Blackrock, Atul Nishar - Founder and Chairman of Hexaware Technologies, Rajeev Gupta, veteran investment banker and Founder of Arpwood Capital, Accel and SAIF Partners. More investors are slated to back the company, as active interest in the Insurtech sector plays out globally.

Acko will operate as an independent general insurance company with its entire operations offered through the digital platform. It will create products and deliver opportunities in areas where there are gaps such as personalised insurance products based on user consumption behaviors.

"Insurance world over and especially in India has massive opportunities harnessing technology for lower distribution costs, algorithmic customized pricing and automated claims. The opportunity is even wider if innovative products which are designed to be consumed online within the internet economy can be made to work in a way that customers find it relevant and easy to access", said Varun Dua, Founder, Acko.

"With Acko we want to make insurance so straightforward that consumers don't need to talk to multiple people to get advice or fill up forms. Consumers should be able to access low prices in one click based on their risk profile, and be confident that at a press of a button - their claim will get paid in the fastest possible time", he added.

U.S., China and Europe have seen a funding blitzkrieg as technology disrupts the Insurance ecosystem. Oscar Health and Lemonade in the US and Zhong An in China have exploded to billion dollar valuations as the sector sees start-ups capturing niche markets, disrupting various parts of the value chain and focusing on millenials who need a simpler, customised and more transparent way of dealing with their insurance.