Aatur Thakkar, Co-founder and Director, Alliance Insurance Brokers

9 Dec 2022 , 09:31 AM

Which are the key macro-opportunities for Alliance Insurance Brokers’ growth? How is the company capitalizing on them?

Insurance today is an under penetrated and fast-growing market and Alliance sees growth opportunities in Tier 2, Tier 3 markets with embedded affinity products, as well as certain specialised reinsurance sectors. We also feel that the corporate houses that we serve today and the India Inc at large are still under-penetrated on certain specific products like cyber, credit swaps. So, we see that as large growth areas.

What are Alliance and Elephant.in’s business expansion plans over the next 2-3 years?

Elephant.in is a prime area of focus for us, for the coming financial year. We believe it is the business category, which needs to be expanded further. In the next two to three years, we’ll be deploying significant capital from a distribution, penetration, and a technology advancement point of view.

Please tell us about Elephant.in which provides insurance to corporate employees. What are its differentiators?

Elephant.in is India’s first Insurtech consulting platform that allows corporate employees to leverage humongous discounts on premiums while purchasing personal retail insurance for themselves. By virtue of no-cost partnerships with corporates, these exclusive products are rolled out to the respective corporate employees through the online platform. Elephant.in is not an insurance aggregation platform, instead, we are a consulting platform that enables employees to make the right choice of insurance by providing access to exclusive products. These products are not available in the open market (with insurance agents/aggregators), and are far more superior, in terms of coverage and benefits than the products available for the general population.
 
What is the opportunity landscape for a company like Elephant.in?

Elephant.in was born to empower corporate employees and give them the muscle of Corporate – Corporate Superpower. At zero cost, zero bandwidth and no commitment partnerships with corporates, the unique employee value proposition from Elephant.in is currently helping over 3.5 million employees unlock their corporate superpower, and we intend to reach close to 10 million employees in the next 12 to 24 months.
 
How is the business model different from other corporate insurance?

Elephant.in has tied up with the major insurers in India and negotiated on exclusive insurance products at competitive prices, keeping in mind, the needs of corporate employees. Generally, retail insurance products are more expensive and offer less features, compared to group insurance. However, at Elephant.in, one can buy retail insurance products with exclusive discounts and tailor-made features.  

Unlike group corporate insurance policies, the services of Elephant.in do not expire upon exiting the company, provided the employee completes certain T&C. Insurance policies provided by the corporate, most of the time do not cover an employee’s parents. However, Elephant.in provides exclusive plans for senior citizens that offer benefits that are tailormade, keeping their convenience in mind, and will cover them even when the employee is not a part of the organization.
 
Please provide outlook on the insurance sector and your expectations from the sector for FY 23- 24.

The insurance sector is currently growing at 16%, where broking penetration is growing at around 23-24%. I believe this growth will continue in the next FY. In fact, I see very strong tailwinds in that direction.

Is the company planning for an IPO? If yes, what are the timelines for the same?

With regards to an IPO, it is not immediately on the cards. We are undergoing a Series B fundraise currently and hopefully in the next 3-4 years, whether it would be a Series C or an IPO, is something that the company and set of investors on board would decide depending on the markets and the capital requirement.