India’s RenewBuy Secures US$45mn in Series C funding round

RenewBuy, an Indian Insurtech company based in Gururam in India, has announced it has acquired US$45mn in capital through a Series C funding round led by Apis Growth Fund II, a private equity fund managed by Apis Partners LLP. 

Taking part in the funding were the existing investors Lok Capital and IIFL Wealth, with Haitong Securities taking on the role of investment banker for the deal. RenewBuy claims that there has been a considerable surge in demand for digital insurance services due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company’s digital platform has been able to gain “significant market share” during these times, RenewBuy said. 

“Strong” demand for insurance in India 

Balachander Sekhar, Chief Executive Officer of RenewBuy, said: “Insurance penetration in India continues to be low at about 3.76%. The demand for insurance is strong in India, supply has always been a gap. At RenewBuy, we have solved this by creating a cutting-edge technology solution that more than 50,000 POSP advisors use – in 650 plus cities. We are taking insurance to the remotest part of the country to those who have been traditionally under-served”. 

Sekhar pointed out that the company’s clients tend to prefer working with professional advisors who can explain which products are able to meet their requirements. He added that RenewBuy had been offering health, auto, and life insurance ever since the company’s services were introduced five years ago. The insurance coverage is being provided by over 35 firms.

Following the launch of its operations in 2015, RenewBuy reports an annual premium of around US$140mn and claims it has doubled its monthly turnover with over 60% of its business coming from semi-urban and rural areas based in India. 

“We believe the next five years will be a phase of exponential growth for the company, reaching 25 million customers through over 200,000 POSP advisors in India and beyond”, he said.