Like in most markets, India is a large but under-penetrated insurance market. While the COVID-19 pandemic led to a sharp uptick in life insurance premiums, bringing it at par with the global average of 3.2% of GDP, non-life premiums - health and motor insurance - continue to lag at sub 1% of GDP, compared to 2% for developing Asian countries and 5% for developed economies. In a low-income economy, paying up premiums to protect against potential long-term downside is not a top priority for people.

However, this will grow. As India’s GDP and per capita income grow, more people will begin insuring themselves and their assets. This has happened globally and India is no different.

Second and more important, the state of insurance in India leaves much to be desired, both for the insurer and the insured. Improving this can be vital to changing the Indian consumer’s relationship with insurance, and building enduring private companies in the space.

We spoke to Varun about his journey building an insurance company, how he approaches building a brand in an industry with established players, and what he sees in the future. He is joined by Abhinav Chaturvedi and Subrata Mitra, investors at Accel who have had a ringside view of Acko and Coverfox.

Key Segments

• 3:19 - 7:20 - Varun’s journey from Coverfox to Acko
• 14:13 - 17:43 - Technology’s role in insurance: Underwriting Distributor vs Underwriting Customer
• 17:44 - 20:11 - Future of Insurance: Ancillary Services
• 21:36 - 25:30 - Learnings from the US Insurance Sector
• 36:32 - 40:12 - Managing regulations in Insurance
• 44:31 - 46:31 - What’s next for Acko

The Accel team wishes Varun and Acko all the best in their mission.

Blog authored by Sankalpana Agarwal from Accel

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