Acko - Insurance made easy for uncertainties in the game of life

Indian Premier League (IPL) excitement has always been in full swing every year, especially during the first and last two weeks. As we are close to the last leg of the series we already get a fair idea of the top 4 qualifiers and this year specifically the two new teams Gujarat Lions and Lucknow Supergiants have made their way up to the top of the table.

One thing which always garners attention in IPL along with the top 4 qualifiers are their sponsors, and those who would be following this 15th edition diligently would have noticed the company Acko, probably on a player’s cap, jersey, or in the ads. So, today we thought let's deep-dive into this company and its co-founders’ journey.

Ruchi Deepak was born in Jamshedpur and completed her Bachelor’s from Lady Shri Ram College followed by a course from the Faculty of Law. She started her career as a lawyer and worked for a few years in the investments, financial services, and venture capital space in India, observing the intricate workings of the industry in India and in London. She also worked as an adviser to multiple startups. So how exactly did the idea of Acko come into existence for her and Varun Dua - another Co-founder of Acko?

Two important pain points that Ruchi and Varun spotted were the cumbersome, boring, and non-transparent process that people have to undergo even when it comes to the insurance of simple products like automobiles and secondly the pricing point of these products i.e. the process by which an insurance company sets up the premium that needs to be charged from the policyholder. Indian Insurtech space was mainly dominated by multi-insurance players such as Policybazaar, Coverfox, Renewbuy till 2018, because this was the year that saw growth in general insurance due to higher share of funding by big players.

Acko General Insurance Limited operates a website that provides information in the areas of car insurance, two-wheeler insurance, general insurance, driving license, RTO, and traffic rules and violations. Acko has also partnered with more than 15 leading players in the internet ecosystem like Ola, Oyo, redBus, Zomato, HDB Financial Services, UrbanClap, etc to offers services like rider insurance, mobile and application protection, and ticket cancellation.

It was started in 2016 and achieved its unicorn status in October 2021 at a $1.1 billion valuation.

Acko financials for FY 2020-21 are as stated below (Amount in Rs.)

Revenue: 480 crores

EBIDTA: -130 crores (-27.1%)

PAT: -130crores (-27.8%)

The top competitors for the company are Policy Bazaar and Digit. Digit was the first insurtech unicorn formed in 2020 in India. Today if we compare Acko v/s Policy Bazaar v/s Digit v/s Ditto Insurance, they all are competitors but have marked their territory in different segments and trying to make a market for themselves.

So to put this into perspective, the main USP of Policy Bazaar since it started is one platform to compare all the policies offered by various insurers.

Digit Insurance since its inception has focused on technology-driven experience to enhance customer channels and back-end processes.

Ditto Insurance has always called itself an insurance educator rather than insurance providers

Finally, Acko has been concentrating on the pain point it started with i.e. New underwriting and pricing models by utilizing alternative sources of data.

It has not been an easy journey for the founder Ruchi, since the year the company was formed was the same year she delivered her twins, but given her enterprising grit and not averse to “risk-taking”, she decided to pursue her dream of becoming an entrepreneur with all the determination.

Currently, Acko makes money through its insurance schemes, in the future, Varun and Ruchi are looking to scale up into the health insurance schemes. Further, it is planning to scale up largely across the verticals of technology, auto insurance, and micro-insurance products across travel, gadgets, and appliances.

Content Credits - Shraddha Joshi