Paytm partners with LIC for insurance premium payments
Mobikwik to also sell insurance policies on its mobile app and website
New Delhi: Paytm (One 97 Communications Limtied) and arch rival Mobikwik, have simultaneously announced entry into online insurance payments and purchase of digital insurance on their platforms, respectively, on Wednesday.
Paytm has partnered with the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) to offer online insurance premium payments on its platform. Softbank-backed Paytm will provide premium payment solutions from over 30 insurance companies including LIC, ICICI Prudential Life, Reliance Life and Max Life Insurance among others.
Mobikwik, which is targeting a 4X growth in the current financial year, will also be providing purchase of insurance policies on its mobile application and website. According to the company, it will target 1.5 million insurance policies by end of FY19.
Paytm, on the other hand, aims to achieve a run rate of 30-40 million policies by end of the year. “Our partnership with LIC & other leading insurance providers will introduce millions of users to a simpler and faster method of renewing their insurance policy online using their preferred mode of payment on the Paytm app in the most seamless manner," said Kiran Vasireddy, chief operating officer at Paytm.
According to a report by BCG, online insurance sales market in India is more than ₹ 700 crores today and is growing rapidly. It is estimated to touch ₹ 11,000 - ₹ 15,000 crore by 2020, which is an increase of nearly 20 times.
In the first phase, MobiKwik has rolled out accidental insurance for the users. According to the company, the platform will suggest insurance products on the basis of customer profiling, advanced data analytics and artificial intelligence algorithm.
“The insurance penetration in India is close to 3% of the GDP and there is a huge potential ready to be tapped, more so with the exponential increase in the adoption of smartphones and penetration of the internet. This presents a vast opportunity for digital Insurance to the mass market which has been ignored by banks, distributors and even online companies in web comparison," said Upasana Taku, co-founder and director at Mobikwik.
Paytm recently entered into mutual funds with its own application and is expected to start share trading, Mint reported on September 25. Mobikwik has also forayed into multiple financial services in recent months including wealth management and announced buying and selling of digital gold in partnership with SafeGold.
One97 Communications Ltd, the parent company of mobile payments app Paytm, reported net loss of ₹ 1,490.7 crore in the year ended 31 March, 2018, an increase by 70% from FY17.
Bajaj Finserv-backed Mobikwik has not filed for its FY18 financials yet.
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