Insurtech Startup Bimaplan To Help Companies Build And Sell Insurance Products

Y Combinator-backed insurtech startup Bimaplan has secured $3.5 Mn in a Pre-Series A funding round led by Orios Venture Partners. Existing investors Finsight Ventures and 2am VC also participated in the round.

Founded in 2020 by Vikul Goyal, Bimaplan’s embedded insurance platform assists insurers in crafting cost-effective insurance offerings aimed at attracting customers from low and middle income segments.

Bimaplan collaborates with companies that have a foothold in rural and semi-urban areas, integrating them as channel partners to facilitate the sale of insurance products via its embedded platform.

The latest funding round takes the total investment secured by Bimaplan to $6 Mn. The startup plans to deploy the funds towards enhancing the features and scalability of its technology platform and launch new products to cater to the needs of its customers. Further, it plans to strengthen its distribution network by expanding existing channels and launching new verticals to reach more people.  

Commenting on the funding, founder and CEO Goyal said, “With this new funding, we endeavor to build a sustainable and profitable distribution network, removing the inefficiencies across the value chain with our strong technology suite. We are grateful to both our existing and incoming investors for helping us move closer to our goal of insuring 10 million lives in the next 2-3 years.” 

For the Indian insurance industry to effectively engage with customers at the grassroots level, there is a critical need for novel strategies and distribution channels beyond what conventional insurance providers offer, he said. “The latent demand for insurance is growing, given a large young workforce and an expanding middle class,” he added. 

With an insurance penetration rate close to 4% of its GDP, India trails significantly behind the worldwide norm of 7%. Despite the insurance sector’s robust 17% compound annual growth rate across the past twenty years, a substantial portion of the adult population, approximating 400 million individuals, remains uninsured. Bimaplan aims to bridge this extensive protection gap, targeting the “missing middle” by offering financial safeguards to the underrepresented demographics in India.

Currently, Bimaplan has a 50-member team based in Bengaluru and Mumbai, and plans to hire across product, technology, and sales to strengthen the organisation.

According to Inc42’s State Of Indian Fintech Report, Q3 2023 InFocus: Consumer Lending, the insurtech market size stood at about $87 Bn in 2022 and is estimated to reach $307 Bn by 2030, exhibiting a growth rate of 17%. 

Last month, InsuranceDekho secured $60 Mn in its ongoing Series B funding round to boost marketing activities, expand distribution in the Indian hinterland, scale up its tech platform, and explore inorganic growth opportunities. With this, the startup is valued at $650 Mn-$700 Mn, moving an inch closer to becoming a unicorn. 

Also, SME-focused insurtech startup Onsurity secured $24 Mn in its Series B funding round to deploy the funds to co-create a technology solution with its insurance partners, to drive seamless and transparent transactions.