Policybazaar in expansion mode

Policybazaar.com, an online non-life and life insurance aggregator run by Gurgaon-based eTechAces Marketing and Consulting Private Limited, is planning to invest Rs 18 crore in expanding its offline presence besides taking up marketing initiatives across the country over the next one and a half years.

“Ever since the launch of the insurance portal in 2008, our initial focus has been on online marketing through various websites like Moneycontrol, Sify and Yahoo. However, with an intent to tap a target audience of 20 million Indians, we are planning to create television promos to broaden our base,” Yashish Dahiya, co-founder and chief executive officer of Policybazaar, told Business Standard.

eTechAces attracted an investment of Rs 20 crore in September 2008 from Info Edge (India) Limited, owners of Naukri.com. While Dahiya and his two other partners Avaneesh Nirjar and Alok Bansal have 51 per cent in Policybazaar, Info Edge holds the remaining equity.

“We have spent Rs 2 crore on starting Policybazaar, and intend to invest the rest in expanding our offline presence and other marketing initiatives,” Dahiya said. This includes setting up branch offices in Hyderabad, Bangalore, Chennai, Chandigarh and Kolkata shortly. The company currently has offices in Gurgaon, Mumbai and Delhi.

Policybazaar has tied up with insurance majors like Reliance Life, Tata AIG, Bajaj Allianz, Birla Sun Life and Mahindra Old Mutual Life. “With the proposed expansion and marketing exercise, we expect about 1,000 leads a day on the portal from March 2009,” Dahiya said.