Toffee Insurance, an online microinsurance provider based in India, has received US$1.5million in equity from several domestic and foreign investors.
The investors include Accion Venture Labs, a fund of US-based NGO Accion; Indian for-profit investment firm Kalaari Capital; and Omidyar Network, a US-based NGO. The ownership structure and amounts each investor contributed have not been disclosed.
According to a statement, Toffee will use the proceeds to develop new insurance products and establish a team that will research technologies such as artificial intelligence and its applications in improving how it matches customers with products.
Toffee, which was founded in February 2017 by Nishant Jain and Rohan Kumar in Gurgaon, targets uninsured individuals under the age of 30. It distributes health, personal accident, and home/fire insurance, underwritten by major insurers’ Indian joint ventures, namely Apple Munich, HDFC Ergo, and Future Generali. It implements a completely digital interface which allows customers to buy insurance in around 90 seconds. Simple claims can be processed in under two hours, as well.
“We are really excited about the support we have received from Kalaari Capital, Omidyar Network and Accion Venture Lab,” Kumar said. “Their belief in our vision will strengthen our capabilities to develop better products across new channels in a scalable form. Our goal is to unbundle products and repackage them in a youth-friendly way that focuses on the benefits of insurance to almost make it a commoditised way to sell insurance rather than as a financial product.”
Toffee revealed that, as of June 2018, the average annual premium of its policies was INR489 (US$7.30).
