Digit Insurance Insurance is a very little penetrated financial service in India. Not only has life insurance not reached the last mile, but other segments like general insurance and health insurance services also have far less reach in the country.However, there is a startup that is trying to revolutionize the industry, making insurance a digital-first financial service for the users, just like other services like banking, broking, mutual funds and more.Here we are talking about Digit Insurance, a digital insurance platform intended to facilitate the process of seeking and approving insurances. It tracks individual suitability and matching criteria for seeking insurances and recommends insurance schemes based on health history and income.India isn’t the first country one might consider when thinking about insurance technology, but Digit Insurance, its first digital general cover provider, is making waves in the marketplace. It aims to make insurance simpler.History of the company Bengaluru headquartered Digit Insurance was kicked off its operations in 2016 by Kamesh Goyal. The insurtech player received regulatory approval from the Indian government's Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) in September 2017.Goyal acts as the founder and chairman of the company. Kamesh Goyal worked as the Head of Asset Management and Group Planning and Controlling at Allianz Insurance. He pursued B.A. LLB and also completed his master's in business administration from Delhi University.Goyal has been a pioneer in the financial services and insurance industry as he has held multiple c-suite position in the Bajaj Allianz, where he spent close to seven years. Bajaj Allianz is a joint venture between Germany's Allianz and India's financial conglomerate Bajaj Groups' Bajaj Finserv. Beginning his innings in 2001 as Chief Operating Officer, Goyal was elevated as the Chief Executive Officer of the company in just three years. He continued the stint till 2007. He was head of strategic planning for the entire Allianz Group. Customer Base and Settlement Ratio Digit insurance brags a customer base of more than two million headcounts, with a strong settlement rate of 94%. The rate might be a little less than a few players, but it's likely to move northwards in the coming years. It offers cover for travel, mobile phones, bikes, cars, and homes, with plans to expand into the health insurance market too. Of the 94% of claims settled in the initial months after gaining IRDA approval, 92% were for car insurance, 91% for two-wheel vehicles, 99.5% for domestic travel, 97% for mobile phones, and 93% for international travel. Business Model The platform has been established with the purpose of giving new products and services to disrupt the Indian general insurance sector. The company works in a simple manner. It is redefining the insurance industry by working digitally. Digit Insurance holds an insurance license that allows the company to sell insurance products. The company not only provides car and home insurance but also provides jewelry and mobile insurance as well. Sometimes there is a large buffet of insurance plans before the investors, which adds to the ambiguity on their platter. Thus, one should always understand his appetite while choosing the plan. Digit Insurance helps investors to solve this dilemma with customized insurance solutions. Revenue Model Digit Insurance earns revenue from the business's list of products and various plans as it enables their visibility on the platform and draws a wide number of users' attention and they tend to spend more time. This allows more offers to be placed over the numerous screens of the platform. Digit Insurance is trying to offer interesting products. Insurance revenue is generated from the premiums. The premium starts from Rs 786 for two-wheeler Insurance the company provides 80% of advance payment to the customer if the vehicle meets any damage or an accident. This Digit insurance is a good marketing buzz, getting customer engagement and driving valuations northwards. Funding Rounds Digit Insurance funding has seen a rise to unicorn status since 2021. This insurance company is recently valued at $3.5 billion. There had been no obstacles to the growth of unicorns. The year saw 11 new unicorns from the Indian startup ecosystem, cutting across segments such as fintech, edtech, consumer internet, and content, among others. So far, Digit insurance has raised a total of $442 million in funding in three funding rounds. The journey started in July 2018 when it raised $45 million from Fairfax Financial Holdings. Fairfax chairman, Prem Watsa, is an Indo-Canadian billionaire known widely as 'Warren Buffet of Canada' for his approach to investment, which sparks similarities with the famed US billionaire. In June 2019, the company raised $50 million again from Fairfax Financial Holdings, and in January 2020, A91 Partners, Faering Capital, TVS Capital Fund invested $84 million in the company. In February 2020, cricketer Virat Kohli and actor Anushka Sharma participated in external funding and invested Rs 2 crore and 50 lakhs respectively. Its recent fund came in July 2021 as it raised $200 million from Sequoia Capital India, IIFL Alternate Asset Managers, Faering Capital, and more. Growth Covid health insurance and fire insurance are the two major products of the company. These two products have helped the company drive growth. The company has expanded its business by 30% in terms of its premium collection. Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the industry initially witnessed degrowth in a few segments, which was offset by the strong pent-up demand in the other segments of the company. Now, as the economic activities are coming back to normal the industry is seeing light at the end of the cave. As covid health insurance has helped businesses view growth while on the other hand vehicle insurance is lacking growth. Strong Partnerships and product range The key strategy of Digit Insurance involves creating beneficial partnerships with companies it can integrate with to provide insurance alongside products. It has done so with 1,500 companies including international e-commerce powerhouse Amazon and Flipkart, another e-commerce site operating within India, which helps him cover mobile handset insurance, since the purchase. The policies become active the moment a handset is delivered to the customer, and claims can be made with no deductible – the standard amount policyholders must pay before any costs are covered by their insurer. Digit Insurance also partners with a large number of car dealerships to sell its car insurance products, as well as with insurance agents and brokers that help extend the reach of its whole product suite. The company’s travel insurance can be bought direct, or through a partnership with ClearTrip, one of India’s largest online travel companies. It not only covers the loss of luggage but also flight delays. The company processes the delay instantly in most cases as the user simply needs to share the boarding pass and evidence. It also breaks the industry trend of offering coverage for delays reaching six hours, reducing this to an hour and fifteen minutes. This has been a breakthrough product for the company.