dai-ichi life: Dai-ichi Life invests $40mn in RenewBuy’s holding company

Japanese insurance major Dai-ichi Life Holdings has invested $40 million to buy about 11% stake in D2C Insurance Broking, which is the holding company for digital insurance marketplace RenewBuy.

This is part of the company’s Series D fundraise while the promoters are negotiating with a few other investors to mobilise another $10-$20 million in primary deals.

The total fundraising target in this round is between $75 million and $100 million as there would also be secondary deals.

“Da-ichi is coming in as a long-term partner, not merely a financial investor,” RenewBuy’s chief executive Balachander Sekhar said. “The fund infusion will provide an opportunity to take RenewBuy’s tech platform to other south Asian countries, especially where Dai-ichi has a presence,” he said.

Financial investors including Apis Partners LLP of the UK, Lok Capital and IIFL Asset Management hold 68% in the insurance broking firm, with Apis being the largest investor having 20% interest. Promoters own 25% while angel investors hold the balance 7%, company officials said.

It raised a total of $120 million since inception.Founded in 2015, RenewBuy sells third-arty motor, health and life insurance cover mostly in semi-urban and rural pockets. It sold policies to about 5 million consumers so far with about 70% of its business coming from tier-3 and smaller towns.The company works with more than 40 insurers while the number of its insurance advisors rose to over a lakh. “We are looking to add 50,000 advisors every year in the next four-five years,” Sekhar said, adding that the latest round of capital infusion would also help the marketplace to leverage its distribution network and technology platform to expand locally. The company expects to make profit in FY24.