Insurtech Startup Turtlemint Bags $30 Mn In Series D Funding Round Led By GGV Capital

Mumbai-based online insurtech startup Turtlemint has raised $30 Mn in Series D funding round led by GGV Capital, American Family Ventures, MassMutual Ventures and SIG.

Existing investors Blume Ventures, Sequoia Capital India, Nexus Venture Partners, Dream Incubator and Trifecta Capital also participated in the round. The Mumbai-based startup has raised $55 Mn till date.

It had last raised $25 Mn in 2019 from Sequoia Capital,Nexus Venture Partners and Blume Ventures to increase the number of insurance partners it was working with. The company had also planned to use the funding to develop technology and business offerings.

Turtlemint will use the fresh funding to grow its network of advisors and improve its technology stack to further improve the experience for consumers, the company’s cofounder Anand Prabhudesai told TechCrunch.

Founded in 2015 by Prabhudesai, Dhirendra Mahyavanshi and Kunal Shah, Turtlemint is aiming to “demystify” insurance by explaining the complexities in a simpler way and providing smart tools to help the customer make the right choice. It offers a technology platform for insurance agents to sell their products.

The company works with over 100,000 insurance advisors, equipping them with digital tools to offer wider and more relevant recommendations to consumers and speed-up the onboarding process. It also serves as a broker for over 40 Indian insurance companies and charges them a commission for policies it sells. The company claims to have more than 1.5 Mn customers.

“By developing products for the micro-entrepreneurs and the rising middle class, Turtlemint has an opportunity to have a positive impact on India’s economy,” said Hans Tung, Managing Partner at GGV Capital, in a statement.

The $280 Bn Indian insurance market is undergoing rapid transformation with young companies entering the market. The insurance market is largely dominated by banks and government agencies such as Life Insurance Corporation (LIC) and General Insurance Corporation of India (GIC) among others.

But now players like Acko, RenewBuy, PolicyBazaar, Bank Bazaar, Digit, Coverfox have entered the market to facilitate insurance services efficiently and digitally.

According to Inc42 Plus estimates, the total investment in Indian fintech startups was $7.62 Bn with a total deal count of 478 between 2015 and Q1 2019. Out of the total funding, 50.13% or $3.82 Bn was in payments tech startups, followed by 25.49% ($1.94 Bn) in lending tech startups, while other fintech startups made up 16.35% of the total investments, and insurance tech contributed 8.03% ($612 Mn).