Policybazaar
Policybazaar is an Indian insurance aggregator and multinational financial technology company based in Gurgaon. The corporation was established in June 2008 by Yashish Dahiya, Alok Bansal and Avaneesh Nirjar. It provides a digital platform—website and an app—where users can compare insurance policies and other financial services from major insurance companies. The company is India's largest insurance aggregator, and has expanded its operations to the United Arab Emirates. Policybazaar is the flagship subsidiary of PB Fintech Ltd., which also owns the credit product aggregator Paisabazaar.
 | This article reads like a press release or a news article and may be largely based on routine coverage. (March 2023) |
 | |
| Company type | Public |
|---|---|
| ISIN | INE417T01026 |
| Industry | |
| Founded | July 2008 in Gurgaon |
| Founders |
|
| Headquarters | Plot No. 119, Sector 44, , India[1] |
Areas served |
|
| Products | Insurance |
| Services | |
| Revenue |  ₹3,438 crore (US$410 million) (FY24)[2] |
| ₹324 crore (US$38 million) (FY24)[2] | |
| ₹64 crore (US$7.6 million) (FY24)[2] | |
| Parent | PB Fintech Ltd. |
| Website | www.policybazaar.com |
Policybazaar is an Indian insurance aggregator and multinational financial technology company based in Gurgaon. The corporation was established in June 2008 by Yashish Dahiya,[3] Alok Bansal[4] and Avaneesh Nirjar.[5] It provides a digital platform—website and an app—where users can compare insurance policies and other financial services from major insurance companies. The company is India's largest insurance aggregator,[6] and has expanded its operations to the United Arab Emirates.[7][8][9]
Policybazaar is the flagship subsidiary of PB Fintech Ltd., which also owns the credit product aggregator Paisabazaar.[10]
History
[edit]Policybazaar.com was founded in June 2008 by Yashish Dahiya, Alok Bansal, and Avaneesh Nirjar, starting out as an insurance comparison website.[11][9][12] At that time, the Indian insurance industry still lacked transparency and policies were mostly sold through agents.[8] Policybazaar started by listing the details of multiple insurance policies for customers to choose from.[8][13] It began as a price-comparison website,[8] and an information portal for learning about insurance and insurance programs. The website subsequently expanded to become a marketplace for insurance policies. In 2015, Policybazaar launched its app[14] for Android and iOS users.
In February 2020, Sarbvir Singh was appointed CEO, effective December 2019, while Yashish Dahiya took over the role of group CEO.[15]
In June 2021, Policybazaar obtained an insurance broking license from IRDAI and announced that it would set up 100 offline outlets across India. The company also surrendered its web aggregator license.[16][17]
Products
[edit]In 2021, Policybazaar moved from a policy price comparison website to an insurance selling operation. The company claims to process nearly 25% of India's life insurance and over 7% of the country's retail health cover.[8]
Policybazaar.com has tie-ups with insurance companies that help it procure information such as prices, benefits, insurance cover, etc. directly from the insurers. Users can use the Policybazaar website or app to research, compare and buy insurance policies from over 40 insurance providers. Policybazaar has companies that offer car insurance, health insurance, life insurance, corporate insurance, and travel insurance as its business partners.
The Insurance Regulatory And Development Authority of India regulates the insurance web aggregation business of Policybazaar. The company is registered as an insurance web aggregator under the Insurance Web Aggregator Regulations, 2017.[18]
Funding
[edit]Info Edge invested ₹30 crore (US$6.9 million) as the seed fund in Policybazaar in mid 2008.[11] Intel Capital and Info Edge invested ₹60 crore (US$12.86 million) into Policybazaar in May 2011 as part of the venture round.[19]
Policybazaar raised US$9 million from Intel Capital and Inventus Capital Partners in its Series A investment round.[11] Policybazaar raised US$5 million in its third round of funding in April 2013. This Series B investment was led by Inventus Capital Partners along with Info Edge and Intel Capital.[20][21][22] In May 2014, Policybazaar.com raised $20 million in a Series C round of funding from existing investors including Tiger Global Management.[22]
Policybazaar raised around US$40 million in its Series D round of funding in April 2015 from Premji Invest, the personal investment vehicle of Wipro chairman Azim Premji. The Series D also attracted money from Steadview Capital and ABG Capital.[23][24] Policybazaar raised US$77 million in its Series E funding round. This was led by at least three new investors, including True North and IDG Venture Partners invested in this round. Also, several media reports claimed that Boston-based asset management firm Wellington Management Group invested in the online insurance aggregator.[25]
Policybazaar raised a total of US$238 million in June 2018 in its series F funding and became a unicorn company.[26] Tokyo-based SoftBank Group's Vision fund led the round with its US$150 million investment that gave it a 15% stake in the parent company of Policybazaar, ETechAces Marketing and Consulting. The Series F investment saw Info Edge put in $45 million in the company through a special purpose vehicle, effectively lifting its stake to 13% from 9%.[27] In November 2019, Tencent acquired a 10% stake in the company at a valuation of $1.5 billion.[28] SoftBank invested an additional $130 million to increase its stake to 15% in July 2020, valuing Policybazaar at around U$1.5 billion.[29]
In November 2021, PB Fintech Ltd., the parent company of Policybazaar, opened its initial public offering (IPO) and raised ₹5,625 crore (US$760.98 million).[30] Shares of PB Fintech Ltd. began trading on National Stock Exchange and Bombay Stock Exchange on 15 November 2021.[31]
Controversies
[edit]In early 2019, Policybazaar filed an intellectual property case against insurance company Acko General Insurance and Coverfox Insurance Broking Private Limited for trademark infringement.[32][33]
In May 2021, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) imposed a fine of ₹24 lakh (US$28,000) on Policybazaar for flouting norms related to SMS advertising.[34]
On 25 July 2022, Policybazaar acknowledged that there had been a data breach,[35] resulting in over 50 million user data records being leaked. Cyberx9 reported that they identified the vulnerabilities, which seemed like "intentional backdoor vulnerabilities", which "did not get fixed until 7 days even though it would take about an hour to fix them".[36]
On 6 December 2023, Policybazaar sends defamation notice to insurance review platform Beshak Solutions Private Limited.[37]
GST officials raided PB Fintech's Gurugram office on January 13, 2025, focusing on vendors linked to its subsidiary, PB Partners, which manages offline insurance distribution for Policybazaar. The company confirmed full cooperation with authorities and stated no financial impact from the raid. Further details remain undisclosed.[38]
References
[edit]- ^ "Contact Us". PolicyBazaar. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ a b c Rudra, Tapanjana (7 May 2024). "PB Fintech Q4: Profit Jumps 62% QoQ To INR 60.2 Cr". Inc42 Media. Retrieved 29 May 2024.
- ^ Menon, Rashmi (1 August 2018). "Yashish Dahiya's success mantra: Running, swimming help him stay unbiased at work". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "Alok Bansal, CFO/Co-Founder, Policybazaar Insurance Web Aggregator Pvt Ltd". www.bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "Online Insurance Company PolicyBazaar Gears Up To Explore Healthcare Tech And Services Market". Inc42 Media. 12 March 2018. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "IRDA Could Stifle Online Insurance Aggregators". Forbes India. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ ANI (24 September 2018). "Policybazaar Group forays into UAE insurance and lending market". Business Standard India. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ a b c d e U N, Sushma (27 June 2018). "India's newest unicorn is disrupting a 200-year-old industry". Quartz. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ a b Chatterjee, Paramita (18 August 2017). "Policybazaar: The best policy". Forbes India. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "Policybazaar files DRHP with Sebi for Rs 6,000-crore IPO". The Economic Times. 2 August 2021. Archived from the original on 2 November 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ a b c "For PolicyBazaar, health care's the best policy". Forbes India. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ Chatterjee, Paramita (11 July 2011). "Policybazaar, Gurgaon based start-up offers buyers an opportunity to compare and choose insurance policies". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ Russell, Jon (25 June 2018). "India's PolicyBazaar raises $200M led by SoftBank's Vision Fund". TechCrunch. Archived from the original on 18 July 2018. Retrieved 18 July 2018.
- ^ "Policybazaar.com Launches Mobile App for Consumers". PitchOnnet. 5 February 2015. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "PolicyBazaar Rejig: Sarbvir Singh Is New CEO; Cofounder Yashish Dahiya Named Group CEO". Inc42. 20 February 2020. Archived from the original on 22 February 2020. Retrieved 22 February 2020.
- ^ "Policybazaar gets insurance broking licence". mint. 11 June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ "Policybazaar.com forays into insurance brokerage, opens 15 retail stores". Business Standard India. 25 June 2021. Archived from the original on 9 November 2021. Retrieved 9 November 2021.
- ^ Indian Insurance Regulatory and Development (InsuranceWeb- ) Regulations ) Regulations, 2017 Archived 1 November 2019 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Gooptu, Biswarup (8 April 2013). "Policybazaar raises $5 million from Inventus Capital, Info Edge and Intel Capital". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "Policybazaar raises $5 mn from Inventus Capital, others". www.businesstoday.in. 8 April 2013. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ Gooptu, Biswarup (8 April 2013). "Policybazaar raises $5 million from Inventus Capital, Info Edge and Intel Capital". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 29 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ a b "Tiger Global invests $20M in Series C in online insurance policy aggregator PolicyBazaar". Techcircle. 26 May 2014. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "PolicyBazaar raises around $40M in Series D round led by PremjiInvest". VCCircle. 14 April 2015. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ vishalsingh1691 (15 April 2015). "PolicyBazaar Gets $40 Mn In Series D From PremJiInvest, Steadview, ABG Capital & Existing Investors". Inc42 Media. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ "Policybazaar raises $77 mn in Series E funding". VCCircle. 13 October 2017. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "PolicyBazaar raises $200 million in a funding round led by SoftBank, enters the unicorn club". www.businesstoday.in. 26 June 2018. Archived from the original on 22 October 2019. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ Gooptu, Biswarup (26 June 2018). "PolicyBazaar raises over $22238 million in SoftBank-led round". The Economic Times. Archived from the original on 13 May 2021. Retrieved 22 October 2019.
- ^ "Tencent Buys 10% of Policybazaar, Enters India Insurance Market". Bloomberg.com. 8 November 2019. Retrieved 10 January 2025.
- ^ Jul 4, Madhav Chanchani / TNN / Updated (4 July 2020). "SoftBank buys more stake in PolicyBazaar in $130 million deal". The Times of India. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
{{cite news}}:|first1=has generic name (help)CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) - ^ Sonavane, Ravindra N. (26 October 2021). "Policybazaar IPO launch date announced: Price band, other details here". mint. Archived from the original on 26 October 2021. Retrieved 26 October 2021.
- ^ "Policybazaar Shares To Debut On Bourses On November 15". NDTV.com. 14 November 2021. Archived from the original on 15 November 2021. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
- ^ "Court Slaps INR 10 Lakh Fine On PolicyBazaar In Trademark Infringement Case Against Acko". Inc42 Media. 5 June 2019. Archived from the original on 23 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "HC imposes Rs 10 lakh cost on Policybazaar for concealing facts to obtain interim order". The Economic Times. 4 June 2019. Archived from the original on 27 September 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- ^ "Policybazaar fined R.s. 24 lakh for flouting IRDAI's SMS ad rules". The Economic Times. Rahul Awasthi. 20 May 2021. Archived from the original on 20 May 2021. Retrieved 20 May 2021.
- ^ Livemint (25 July 2022). "Policybazaar says its IT systems were breached, authorities informed". mint. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ "Policybazaar — a major Indian insurance aggregator funded by a Chinese company — exposed sensitive and confidential personal, health, and financial data of around 56.4 million of its customers including defense personnels". www.cyberx9.com. Retrieved 2 March 2024.
- ^ Mathi, Sarvesh (14 December 2023). "Policybazaar sends defamation notice to Beshak.org". MediaNama. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ "GST officials conduct search operations at Policybazaar office". The Economic Times. 16 January 2025. ISSN 0013-0389. Retrieved 8 February 2025.