[Update] India-Maldives Tensions: InsuranceDekho, Square Insurance Suspend Travel Insurance For Maldives

Update| January 9, 4:54 PM

Amid the India-Maldives row, Jaipur-based insurtech startup Square Insurance has joined the boycott Maldives call by suspending its insurance facilities temporarily for those travelling to the island nation.

The Recur Club-backed startup said in a statement that the temporary suspension of travel insurance coverage for Maldives aligns with its dedication to adjusting insurance offerings to the changing conditions of the travel sector.

Rakesh Kumar, founder and managing director of Square Insurance, said that the startup’s decision will help it prioritise customer safety and well-being amid the escalating India-Maldives row. 

Founded in 2017, Square Insurance specialises in providing essential risk management through insurance services. It operates as a direct insurance broker authorised by IRDA under the Insurance Brokers Regulations of 2002. 

It is the third startup to join the boycott Maldives campaign. On Monday (January 8), traveltech startup Easemytrip was the first to announce suspension of all flight bookings to Maldives and following that insurtech startup InsuranceDekho also suspended its travel insurance to those tourists heading to the island nation.

Original story| January 8, 8:50 PM

Amid the ongoing tensions between India and Maldives, insurance aggregator InsuranceDekho has joined traveltech startup EaseMyTrip in the boycott Maldives campaign. It has announced the suspension of travel insurance facilities for those travelling to the island nation.

InsuranceDekho cofounder and CTO Ish Babbar took to LinkedIn to make the announcement. “We stand united with our country and in solidarity, we at InsuranceDekho have suspended travel insurance to Maldives,” he said in the post.

At the heart of the row is the social media comments made by three deputy ministers in the Maldives government. Last week, Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited Lakshadweep and shared images from his visit on social media. He also urged tourists to explore the islands. While the images soon went viral, they also started an online war of words between users of X in India and Maldives.

The matter took a serious turn after the deputy ministers passed comments on India. They even made personal attacks on PM Modi. As the issue created a furore, the Maldives government suspended the three ministers. However, the matter refuses to die down in India, which accounts for the largest number of visitors to Maldives. 

Earlier today, the Indian Chamber of Commerce called for boycotting Maldives. The chamber’s aviation, travel and tourism expert committee, headed by STIC travel group’s Subhash Goyal, appealed to various associations in the business of travel to stop promoting the Maldives given the anti-India feelings expressed by the ministers of the island nation. 

It also urged businesses to divert travel enquiries for Maldives to Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands. 

Amid all these, EaseMyTrip announced the suspension of all flight bookings for the Maldives.

Another traveltech startup MakeMyTrip launched a ‘Beaches of India’ campaign on the platform. It displayed offers and discounts to encourage Indian travellers to explore “the country’s stunning beaches”. 

In a post on X, the company claimed that it has observed a 3,400% increase in on-platform searches for Lakshadweep since PM Modi visited the union territory.

Founded by Babbar, and Ankit Agrawal, InsuranceDekho competes with the likes of Digit Insurance and PolicyBazaar. The insurtech startup counts the likes of TVS Capital Funds, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Investocorp among its investors.

InsuranceDekho last raised a funding of $60 Mn, in a mix of equity and debt, in October last year. Investors in the round included Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc., Beams Fintech Fund, among others. 

The startup managed to double its operating revenue to INR 96.4 Cr in FY23 from INR 47.9 Cr in the previous fiscal year. Its net loss declined 29% year-on-year to INR 51.5 Cr.