With Expansion On The Cards, EaseMyTrip Eyes A Slice of General Insurance Space

Traveltech startup EaseMyTrip has received an in-principle nod from the company’s board to foray into the general insurance space.

“In line with the business expansion plans of the company, the board of the company has in-principally approved engaging into all kinds of general insurance business through a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Company, which is yet to be incorporated,” said EaseMyTrip in a regulatory filing. 

The move is part of the company’s bid to further expand its business and venture into newer categories. As part of the plan, EaseMyTrip will incorporate a wholly-owned subsidiary to carry out the business related to general insurance

The announcement comes nearly a year after the listed unicorn set the wheels, for a separate insurance subsidiary, into motion. At its annual general meeting (AGM) in August last year, the company approved an amendment to its charter that allowed it to venture into the general insurance arena. 

The details are still scarce on whether the yet-to-be-incorporated subsidiary will commence operations after acquiring another entity or go the regular regulatory route of acquiring a licence. 

The move to venture into the general insurance space could enable it to directly offer travel insurance to customers that book itineraries on its platform. The announcement comes barely a week after it announced a partnership with traveltech platform SanKash to offer travel insurance.

It was also not immediately clear whether EaseMyTrip was also looking to foray into other general insurance segments, apart from travel-based offerings. 

In its regulatory filing with the bourses, the company said that it received board approval to identify potential target entities, both Indian and foreign, for acquisition. With this, the startup aims to further strengthen its existing business operations and grow inorganically. 

The company aims to acquire startups involved in areas such as cruise and tour package services, hotel reservation services, and medical and educational tourism, largely in North America, UAE, South Pacific and India. With this, EaseMyTrip also aims to foray into the medical and education tourism sectors. 

The board’s decision is still subject to regulatory and shareholders’ approval, EaseMyTrip said.

Post-Pandemic Growth Fuels EaseMyTrip 

EaseMyTrip has been witnessing a big influx of numbers, largely on the back of the post-pandemic boom. Strong growth in flights and hotel segments helped the company notch a consolidated net profit of INR 41.7 Cr in the quarter that ended December 2022, up 4.15% year-on-year (YoY). 

As a result, the startup has embarked on a slew of acquisitions and growth initiatives. It acquired a 55% stake in hotel booking marketplace cheQin for an undisclosed amount in January 2023. In the same month, it also entered into the offline travel space with the launch of its franchise model. 

Founded in 2008 by Prashant Pittie, Nishant Pitti and Rikant Pitti, EaseMyTrip offers travel solutions from air tickets to holiday packages. With a presence in India as well as Singapore, Thailand, the UAE, the UK and the US, the startup claimed to have a customer base of 1.1 Cr and 61,000 travel agents at the end of January 2023. 

It locks horns with players such as Yatra, MakeMyTrip, Goibibo, and ClearTrip, among others.