Digital insurance platform RenewBuy has raised Rs 130 crore ($18.85 million) in a Series B funding round led by impact venture capital firm Lok Capital and IIFL Asset Management Ltd.
Existing investor Amicus Capital also participated in the round, RenewBuy said in a statement.
RenewBuy, operated by D2C Insurance Broking Pvt. Ltd, said it will use the fresh funding to expand its footprint in 1,000 cities as well as augment its product portfolio and insure 10 million customers by 2022.
Chief executive officer Balachander Sekhar said the startup’s capital-efficient business would help it turn profitable within 24 months while retaining its growth levels.
Lok Capital co-founder and managing partner Venkatesh Natarajan said RenewBuy was the firm’s first investment in the insurance sector. He added that the company had shown “exponential growth” because of its differentiated business model and technology-led fulfillment with a focus on service.
Investec acted as the investment banker on the transaction.
Founded in 2015, RenewBuy originally focussed on the motor insurance sector. The company says it has signed up 25,000 point-of-sale partners and insured over one million customers across 450 cities. The company now offers products such as health insurance, personal accident insurance and motor insurance, among others.
In 2017, the platform raised $9.2 million (around Rs 60 crore then) from Amicus Capital. This was Amicus Capital’s first investment out of its maiden $86 million fund, which hit its first close in December 2016. In November 2015, the startup had raised Rs 3.3 crore ($500,000) in an angel funding round led by Singapore-based principal investment and advisory firm Mount Nathan Advisors Pte. Ltd
Investors
Lok Capital was established in 2004. The firm backs startups and entrepreneurs in segments such as financial services, healthcare and the food and agriculture sectors. In February, VCCircle reported that the firm was looking to make the first close for its fourth fund by September, with plans to increase investments in the fintech segment. It had invested $2 million (Rs 13 crore) in online lending startup Mintifi in April last year.
IIFL Asset Management is part of IIFL Wealth Management, which in turn is part of the financial services company IIFL Group. The company offers investment products such as mutual funds, alternative investment funds and portfolio management services spanning public and private equities, fixed-income securities and real estate.
Amicus Capital Partners set up in 2015 by Mahesh Parasuraman, a former managing director at Carlyle Group; and Sunil Vasudevan, a former partner at India Value Fund Advisors, which is now known as True North. The mid-market growth fund invests in companies in sectors such as financial services, consumer, healthcare, technology and business services.
