Filing a mediclaim, by large, has always left a sour taste in a claimer’s mouth. And something similar was faced by Ankit Agrawal back in 2012-13, which stuck with him. “But once that situation passed, I went back to my work. In 2015 I met the founders of Girnar Group- Amit and Anurag, and I liked what they were doing. And till 2016, I was heading their used car business, but I wanted something heavier in terms of transactions, which got me in front of the customers. So I pitched them the idea that I had, which fit beautifully with your story (CarDekho) and asked, “can we build this out?” and they and the board liked what I was proposing,” shares Agrawal, Co-founder and CEO, InsuranceDekho.

The 2016 insurtech startup holds consumer, partner and team centricity at the highest level. He notes that InsuranceDekho has grown 20% every quarter for the past 32 quarters. “When you buy insurance, it’s a promise. Today you’ve given someone money, and if tomorrow, you have a car accident, health issue, or a fatality, you or your family will get money which will provide some relief.” he shares.

InsuranceDekho works on both online and offline modes, “offline in the country will stay for at least the next 10-15 years. Insurance is going to be bought and sold offline in the country.” Having gone and understood the ground reality in cities such as Bihar’s Begusarai, Punjab’s Abohar, and Haryana’s Bahadurgarh, Agrawal has personally onboarded 5000-10000 partners. Presently, they have 80,000 partners and 50,000 insured citizens.

The startup in February raised its Series A round worth $150 million, making it the largest ever Series A funding by an insuretech in the country. “I believe that funding and valuation are all outcomes; a business’ core model should be properly solving the problem of their core consumers. If you can solve that, you can build a big business and generate profits,” he adds.

In 2021, the company launched its InsuranceDekho Saathi initiative, which aims to create first-time agents in tier 3 and beyond cities. It has partnered with micro-entrepreneurs to train them in insurance products, demand generation, policy issuance, post-policy support, and claims assistance. “It’s going great; the Saathi program is our core. Out of 80,000 agent base, 15% are housewives, and 25% are retired professionals who have come back for a second inning,” shares Agrawal.

“We have insured 50 lakh people in the country. Those 50 lakh people have trusted InsuranceDekho, who indirectly have trusted me. We are a very simple and straightforward company whose focus is the business itself. The aim now is to double in the next financial year,” he concludes.