Jaipur-based life and general insurance broker Square Insurance on Thursday announced a $3 million funding round led by startup investment platform BizDateUp and portfolio management services (PMS) company Negen Capital. The round also saw other investors including Prashant Kothari, owner of Jaipur Color Stone, and Yogesh Chaudhary, owner of Jaipur Rugs.
The company said it will deploy the fresh capital towards developing technology for cattle insurance to address the critical needs of farmers in rural areas. Moreover, the funds will be invested in creating customized micro-insurance products in collaboration with insurers and forming strategic partnerships with fintech and e-commerce companies, Square Insurance said in a statement.
Speaking on the capital infusion, Rakesh Kumar, Founder and Managing Director of Square Insurance said the funding “will enable us to enhance our offerings and extend our reach into new markets, particularly in rural areas where insurance protection is crucial.”
The insurance sector in India is currently the 10th largest globally and is expected to grow to the sixth position by 2032, as per reinsurance company Swiss Re.
The sector saw a compound annual growth rate of 10 per cent with premium income surpassing Rs 11 trillion in the previous fiscal.
“Currently, the (Indian insurance) industry is growing at an impressive rate of 32-34 per cent annually. Moreover, the sector has attracted nearly Rs 54,000 crore (US$ 6.5 billion) in foreign direct investment, driven by the government’s progressive relaxation of overseas capital regulations,” said Meet Jain, Co-founder, BizDateUp.
BizDateUp said it enabled funding in over 25 startups in FY24 and raised a $10 million fund along with engaging with more than 1,000 active angel investors. The platform said it achieved an average return of 3.5X in FY24.
India’s insurance sector saw nearly Rs 54,000 crore in foreign direct investment (FDI) in the past nine years on the back of further liberalisation of overseas capital flow norms by the government, Financial Services Secretary Vivek Joshi told PTI in March this year.
The government enhanced the permissible FDI limit from 26 per cent in 2014 to 49 per cent in 2015 and then to 74 per cent in 2021, Joshi had said.