Insurtech platform Turtlemint has raised $120 million in a Series E round led by Amansa Capital, Jungle Ventures and Nexus Venture Partners, the startup said on April 29. Post the round, Turtlemint's valuation stands at $900 million, inching closer to the unicorn tag.
The round also saw participation from new investors Vitruvian Partners and Marshall Wace, along with other existing investors. This brings the total funding raised by the company since its inception to $190 million.
The company intends to use the fresh funds to expand in new geographies, scale its leadership team and strengthen its product stack.
Moneycontrol had reported in November 2021 that the insurtech startup is eyeing a unicorn tag after insurance marketplace Policybazaar's parent company PB Fintech went public. At $1 billion, the company's valuation could have grown by five times.
In 2021, Indian insurtech platforms saw large investor interest which was further aided by the robust funding environment. According to data by Tracxn, insurtech startups raised $436.57 million in 2021 across 20 rounds, two times more than the $227 million raised in 2020. Players Digit and Acko Insurance emerged as the first two insurtech unicorns in the country.
Founded in 2015 by Dhirendra Mahyavanshi and Anand Prabhudesai, former employees of classifieds startup Quikr, Turtlemint started by providing an online platform for insurance agents to join and sell auto, health and life insurance. The company has adopted an online-to-offline model.
The startup's platform helps financial advisors understand and distribute insurance to their community of customers. It also allows financial advisors to match customers with products that are best suited for their needs, through a digital solution.
“Insurance is an important risk mitigation tool that needs to be universally accessible. However, we believe that access is only one aspect of the insurance purchase journey. Another equally important aspect is informed decision making. Innovation and technology will continue to be the core focus of Turtlemint as we continue to increase our footprints in tier 2, tier 3 cities and beyond,” Mahyavanshi said in a statement.
Recently, the company expanded in the Middle East by providing and it also plans on expanding its global footprint to South East Asian countries. Mahyavanshi added that the company targets to onboard over 1 million advisors by 2025.
Cofounder Prabhudesai said, "India is at a critical juncture, particularly in terms of demand for health insurance products. Tier 2 and 3 cities will account for a significant portion of this demand. As individuals continue to seek assistance during purchase and claim journeys, the last-mile distribution needs to be empowered with the best technology. This is what our offline-online strategy solves for customers.”
Currently, Turtlemint has over 160,000 insurance. Turtlemint’s Advisor App, called TurtlemintPro, allows empaneled Point of Sales Person (PoSP) advisors to fully manage their insurance business using a mobile app.
Aside from selling a range of products across Health, Life, PA (Personal Accident), Motor Insurance, etc; the App also helps advisors build stronger customer relationships by enabling sharing of personalised branded content and quotes. It also offers a mobile based training & skill development program for advisors through the Turtlemint Academy section on the app.
Peter Read, Partner at Vitruvian Partners commented “We believe that Turtlemint is at the forefront of effecting digital transformation in insurance in India by enabling advisors, through technology, to bring transparency and trust to customers. We are excited to partner with the exceptional team at Turtlemint in their next phase of growth by making insurance simple and accessible across India and beyond.”
