Policybazaar raises $75 million to expand in the UAE and Middle East

By Leandra Monteiro

Indian digital insurance marketplace, PolicyBazaar has announced it has raised $75 million in a new funding round led by New York-based Falcon Edge Capital. According to the company the raised funds will be used towards its UAE and Middle East expansion plans. The brand places to expand to new geographies within the next 18-24 months.

Founded in 2008, PolicyBazaar India is an online platform that enables users to purchase life and general insurance. “The brand is committed to building motor, health and life insurance product categories in the UAE region,” said Neeraj Gupta, chief executive officer of Policybazaar UAE, according to media. “So far, we have sold sum assured worth $100m through our term life insurance products and we intend to scale this figure to $1bn in the next 12 to 18 months.”

According to media reports, Yashish Dahiya, Co-founder & Group CEO at Policybazaar said, “As a brand, we are scratching the surface of how powerful online insurance and lending business can be when it is combined with advanced technology. Our offerings are well-timed with the rapidly increasing demand for digital solutions in the insurance and financial lending sector. We believe that the $2.5bn market will continue to see a substantial shift towards digital operations. We aspire to bring the powerful solution that we offer customers and manufacturers in India, to the UAE. The coming financial year, we aim to scale 5 times in size and scale.”

“We believe the playbook [PolicyBazaar] has established over the last 10 years in being the most efficient sales channel for insurance manufacturers can act as a catalyst to gain market leadership in the GCC,” said Navroz Udwadia, co-founder of Falcon Edge Capital, according to media reports.