Insurtech Startup Medi Assist To Acquire Raksha Insurance To Expand India Presence

Insurtech startup Medi Assist has signed a definitive agreement to acquire competitor Raksha Insurance for an undisclosed amount. 

The deal will enable Medi Assist to bolster its presence in the interior parts of northern, central and western India. The startup claims that the move will also help it expand its retail presence and strengthen its relationships with insurers. 

According to the company, the acquisition will potentially add over 10% to Medi Assist’s size and more than 20% in terms of retail market share. The development will also enable the healthtech startup to onboard 3,000+ corporate clients. 

The startup said that it will fund the transaction through internal accruals.

Medi Assist will now seek IRDAI’s nod for the acquisition and expects the approval in the next two months. 

“Together with Medi Assist’s human-centered and technology-powered approach, we anticipate helping more insured customers get better care, when and how they need it,” Raksha Insurance’s managing director Pawan Bhalla said.

Echoing a similar sentiment, Medi Assist’s director Satish Gidugu said, “We believe access to health benefits is highest on the list of experiences that need to become more seamless. With Raksha we see lots of opportunities to improve the quality of experience across in-patient and out-patient care across the ecosystem.”

Incorporated in 2000, Medi Assist is a healthcare insurance third party administrator (TPA) that largely caters to corporates and retail policyholders. The startup deploys proprietary technology for processing claims and for employee benefits management, all while ensuring smooth experience for all stakeholders. 

The acquisition comes nearly four months after Medi Assist acquired Mayfair We Care in November last year. It also acquired Medvantage Insurance TPA for an undisclosed deal in 2022. 

Insurance penetration in India continues to be abysmally low, with 3.2% for life insurance segment and a mere 1% in the non-life segment in FY21. With a new wave of insurtech startups emerging in the country, these new-age tech companies are building technology to resolve this issue. 

Building on top of that are TPAs which leverage technology to address various bottlenecks for corporations and policyholders to simplify the process. 

These companies operate within the larger insurtech space, which, as per Inc42, is projected to touch the size of $339 Bn by 2025.