Amazon goes shopping in Indian insurance

The US retailer is backing a small digital firm as more consumers shop online for policies.

A small Indian online insurance company called Acko said it had received a new round of investment of $12 million led by US retailer Amazon, in an email to FinanceAsia on Monday.

The founder of private equity fund ChrysCapital, Ashish Dhawan, also made an investment. An existing investor, Catamaran Ventures, topped up its holding.

The latest infusion takes Acko’s total equity funding to nearly $42 million.

The insurance industry is facing massive disruption as more consumers go online to shop for policies, even across Asia Pacific where door-to-door salesman have staged a rear-guard battle.

“The insurance industry is ripe for innovation as data and technology embed themselves in the ecosystem," said ChrysCapital's Dhawan.

Founded in 2016 by Varun Dua, Acko aims to sell products with personalized pricing based on customer behaviour and data analytics.

Earlier investors in Acko include: Accel Partners, SAIF Partners, Swiss Re Reinsurance and Transamerica Ventures Fund.
 

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