After capturing and exploring fashion, electronics and groceries market, India’s two biggest e-commerce giants Amazon India and Flipkart are gearing up to tap the Rs 35,000-crore online Indian insurance market. The online insurance market is so promising that Flipkart’s co-founder Binny Bansal and Amazon India recently made massive investments in the same firm in this space.
The two companies are drawing out the best strategies and searching for business partners for tie-ups. From general, life, auto, and travel to mobile phone safety insurance, both companies are betting big to grab the major market share in online Indian insurance industry. The firms are also looking to poach some of the best minds in the insurance arena to understand the sector and layout their plan. By the end of this year, this could be the biggest vertical for these firms outside of shopping.
As per market experts says that both the biggies will soon roll out insurance products in the first half of this year, things got delayed as the companies were caught in getting their houses back in order, following the introduction of foreign direct investment (FDI) in e-commerce norms.
“We are pleased to receive the corporate agency licence from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority. At Amazon Pay, we continue to work customer backwards and focus on providing value to customers wherever we see an opportunity, insurance being one of them. We are exploring the landscape in India and are looking at insurance solutions that provide a convenient and seamless experience for our customers,” Amazon India spokesperson said. Flipkart did not comment on the issue.
As per the sources Amazon India is looking out for tie-ups with couple of companies in order to provide whole range of services. Flipkart is also searching out for insurance firms to partner with them. “They will not come out with their own product but in partnership with companies. Providing insurance would complete the package and offerings for these e-commerce firms,” added the source.
Alliances have started forming in the sector. Flipkart last year got into a tie-up after securing a corporate agent licence. It started with offering customized insurance solutions to power its ‘Complete Mobile Protection’ programme for all leading mobile brands being sold on its platform in partnership with Bajaj Allianz General Insurance.
Last year in May, Amazon led a $12-million round in online insurer Acko General Insurance. Interestingly, Acko a few days back raised $65 million in a round led by Flipkart co-founder Binny Bansal and another led by former SoftBank managing partner Kabir Misra.