Online insurance platform PolicyBazaar raises $75m to fund UAE, Middle East expansion

Online insurance marketplace PolicyBazaar has raised $75m to fund its UAE and Middle East expansion plans.

The investment was led by Falcon Edge Capital, a diversified global alternative asset management firm started in 2012 and with approximately $5bn in assets currently under management.

PolicyBazaar has been at the forefront of digitising the insurance ecosystem in India. The company hopes the new investment can help it expand the same model to the online insurance sector in the UAE.

The brand also aims to expand its footprint within the UAE and other geographies within the Middle East in the next 18 to 24 months.

“We believe the playbook [PolicyBazaar] has established over the last 10 years in being the most efficient sales channel for insurance manufacturers can act as a catalyst to gain market leadership in the GCC,” said Navroz Udwadia, co-founder of Falcon Edge Capital.

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Founded in 2008, PolicyBazaar India is an online platform allowing users to purchase life and general insurance. The company features products from major insurance companies in India. The company says it has over 100 million visitors yearly and sales of 400k transactions a month.

“The brand is committed to building motor, health and life insurance product categories in the UAE region,” said Neeraj Gupta, chief executive officer of Policybazaar UAE. “So far, we have sold sum assured worth $100m through our term life insurance products and we intend to scale this figure to $1bn in the next 12 to 18 months.”