RenewBuy raises $45 mn in Apis Partners led round

Digital insurance platform RenewBuy on Friday said it has raised $45 million (Rs 332 crore) as part of its Series C funding round.

The funding was led by UK-based asset manager Apis Partners LLP that invested through Apis Growth Fund II, said RenewBuy in a statement.

Existing investors Lok Capital and IIFL Wealth also participated in the funding round, it added.

Haitong Securities was the investment banker for the transaction.

RenewBuy noted that the company grew significantly during the coronavirus pandemic as there has been an increase in demand for insurance products. The fresh capital will be used to further accelerate its growth.

Balachander Sekhar, CEO, RenewBuy group, said that the company has provided health, life and motor insurance to a customer base of 2.5 million people since its launch five years ago.

In the next five years, the company aims to reach 25 million customers through over 200,000 POSP (point of sale person) advisors in India and beyond.

RenewBuy said it has Rs 1,000 crore ($140 million) in annualised premium. It added that more than 60% of its business comes from semi-urban and rural areas in India.

RenewBuy, operated by D2C Insurance Broking Pvt Ltd, originally focused on the motor insurance sector. The company had raised Series B funding of Rs 130 crore led by Lok Capital and IIFL in July 2019. Prior to this, the startup had raised $9.2 million (around Rs 60 crore then) from Amicus Capital in 2017.

Udayan Goyal, managing partner and co-founder, Apis Partners, noted that with less than 10% of India's 1.4 billion population currently insured, this sector represents a huge growth opportunity given the demographics and current penetration levels.

"Given that the Indian insurance industry has grown at a healthy pace of 17% CAGR (compound annual growth rate) over the last decade and is expected to have a long-term secular growth, we believe that RenewBuy is uniquely positioned to capitalise on this growth and increase its already impressive nationwide footprint," added Matteo Stefanel, managing partner and co-founder, Apis Partners.

The Apis Group is a global private equity asset manager focused on growth stage financial services and financial infrastructure businesses. Headquartered in London, it has representation in seven countries across Europe, North, East and West Africa and South and Southeast Asia.

Insurance technology startups have attracted significant investor attention in India with the likes of Policybazaar all set to float an initial public offering.

Earlier this year, cloud based general insurance company Digit Insurance entered the unicorn club of startups that boast a valuation of at least $1 billion.