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Acko General Insurance, an online insurance provider, has gone live with its comprehensive car and bike insurance product.
The full-fledged launch comes nearly six months after the ‘insurtech’ undertook a soft launch of its product in March, Varun Dua, founder and CEO, Acko, told BusinessLine .
Relying completely on online distribution channels, Acko promises to deliver car insurance products that are priced 15-20 per cent lower than those available in the physical channels, which have a lot of loaded costs such as commissions.
“Because we are able to use a lot more data, we are able to distinguish between good risks and bad risks. Since the customer buys directly from us online, we are able to offer relatively lower prices, resulting in savings of 15-20 per cent,” Dua said.
He pointed out that auto insurance is very price-sensitive as it is a mandatory spend for the customer.
Asked if Acko plans to sell its car insurance product through aggregators, Dua said the company is yet to decide.
Easy settlement
On claim settlement, Acko has introduced some novelty to provide customer convenience.
“We are providing a three-day timeline guarantee and the customer does not need to move an inch. All that a customer has to do is — at the click of a button or through a call — initiate a claim. Somebody will come to pick up your car, repair it and deliver it back in three days,” Dua said.
The start-up, which is backed by NR Narayana Murthy’s Catamaran Ventures, Accel, SAIF Partners and other private equity investors, is offering the three-day claim guarantee in 11 cities for now.
“By the end of the year, we will be able to do this in 25 cities,” Dua said.
Acko, which got insurance regulator IRDAI’s nod to commence business in October last year, has till date raised $42 million in one of the largest seed rounds for a start-up in India.
Dua said the current auto insurance market is about $ 8 billion, and is likely to grow to $15 billion in five years.
“Out of the $15 billion, the market for car and bike insurance is expected to be about $10 billion. In this, online sales is expected to be 15-20 per cent (from the current 6 per cent),” he said.
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