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Bimaplan, a Y-Combinator-backed insurtech startup, has partnered with intercity travel startup, zingbus, to provide insurance as an add-on benefit to their users.
By integrating insurance into their existing product, zingbus aims to provide a safe ride and a better customer experience, boosting customer acquisition and retention.
With this integration, Bimaplan has simplified the operational and technological process faced by zingbus for providing insurance services. It has enabled the travel-tech platform to go live with the product in less than three weeks with five times faster integration, to help them to strengthen a loyal customer base.
Through its embedded insurance platform UNO, the insurtech company will provide an array of coverage including travel accidental death, permanent total disablement, emergency medical cover, emergency medical evacuation cover, repatriation of mortal remains cover, travel accidental hospitalization cash (up to 7 days) and loss of baggage cover to ensure a safe, convenient, and reliable travel experience.
The popularity of travel insurance is growing rapidly in the post-Covid world. Travel insurance is no longer seen as an afterthought, but as an essential tool, ready to provide travellers with protection that covers all sorts of uncertainties. Intercity buses transport over 30 million people every day hence there is a huge potential in this market. The outstation bus market, currently valued at $30 billion, is expected to reach $48 billion by 2025, growing at a CAGR of 9.8%.
Vikul Goyal, CEO of Bimaplan, said, “In light of the recent boom in intercity travel following the COVID pandemic, it is imperative to secure every journey to minimize the risks such as accidents and loss of baggage involved in travel. The insurance plugged in at the point of travel booking assures travelers of a comprehensive and safe travel package. We believe our partnership with zingbus will safeguard and enhance the travel experiences of customers."
With its intercity bus service, zingbus connects more than 500 cities across 17 states. It has a fleet of 350+ buses and has served more than 20 lakhs customers. Providing complimentary travel insurance to its customers is a step up in customer experience considering the intercity startup focuses primarily on comfort and safety.
The collaboration adds a new product to Bimaplan’s existing portfolio, helping the company expand its insurance adoption efforts across different segments. Bimaplan plans to secure 1 million trips in the next year for zingbus.
Prashant Kumar, CEO & co-founder of zingbus, said, “We are always on the lookout for new ways to elevate the safety benefits for our travelers. This added favorable factor will help us to improve the customer experience whilst traveling. The scope of this integrated free insurance cover is to act as a safety net, from the point customer onboards Zingbus till the drop-off. The insurance provides Personal Accidental cover & Baggage loss cover, among others. Having these risks covered ensures an additional layer of protection against unforeseen circumstances."
Depending on the needs of the user, the platform offers the partners tailored plans. In a short span, the insurtech startup has onboarded 30+ partners in NBFC, MFI, neobanks, logistics aggregators, and gig platforms. In the next year, Bimaplan plans to simplify the insurance selling process and user experience for 100+ companies and potentially reduce the churn by 40%, said the firm.
