Policybazaar expands revenue share from new business lines

PBFintech, which is a publicly listed entity and owns insurance distributor Policybazaar and credit aggregator Paisabazaar, generated Rs 365 crore of revenue in the fourth quarter of the last financial year from its new initiatives.

This number has gone up 137% from Rs 154 crore in the fourth quarter of last year. In the last quarter, PBFintech reported an overall operational revenue of Rs 869 crore, up 60% from Rs 540 crore in the year prior.

From around 28% of its overall revenue coming from its new initiatives, Policybazaar has now pushed the share to 42% in one year.

PB Fintech joint group CEO Sarbvir Singh told ET that the new initiatives at Policybazaar are doing good business with overall losses in this segment having come down to Rs 36 crore in the last quarter from around Rs 90 crore in the fourth quarter of last year.

Also read | Policybazaar parent PB Fintech narrows Q4 losses to Rs 9 crore

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Opening new lines

Policybazaar started three major lines under the new initiatives: PB Partners, PB Corporate and its business in the Gulf. The first two business lines opened up after the insurance intermediary received the insurance broking licence from Insurance Regulator and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) in 2021.

Under PB Partners, Policybazaar works with a network of physical agents. Under the corporate business, it sells B2B insurance products like fire, marine, directors and officers insurance and offers employer-employee insurance cover too.

The company did not provide revenue details for each of its business segments.

During the investor call after its fourth quarter earnings, PBFintech said that it gets around 34% of its non-motor business from its agent network that covers around 15,000 pin codes in the country.

Policybazaar cofounder Yashish Dahiya had pointed out on the call that currently the businesses are operating at a margin of negative 1%, almost breaking even from negative 51% at its peak.

Through the offline business and the B2B arm, the listed insurance major competes with other insurtech startups like Turtlemint, Plum, Pazcare and others.

Distribution heft

Policybazaar, with its strong brand recall and its financial might, is working aggressively to corner a large chunk of these business lines. Singh pointed out that these business lines are not only about shiny apps and technology but require hard-nosed bargaining with large corporations.

This space is also dominated by large brokers like Marsh and others. With an expansive sales team and an experience of selling insurance for the last 15 years, Singh said that he is confident of closing large deals with corporations for not only their general insurance requirements but also to protect their employees.

PBFintech said 4,000 companies have taken employee insurance and around 25,000 firms have taken some kind of insurance product from it.

“We had acquired this company Visit Internet and for this part of the business they work with us. We offer this platform to the corporates we onboard,” said Singh.

Through the app, employees can raise claims, track reimbursements and integrate with health trackers, Singh added.

“In some cases where we have offered this service to startups or companies where employees get multiple insurance benefits, we have seen the engagement on the app being as high as around 70% to 80%,” Singh said.

Despite this business being more than a year old, renewal rates continue to remain low. Talking about the corporate business, Singh told ET that it is a very competitive business and renewals need tough negotiations.

“But we have a strong capability to play a significant role in this business in the long term,” Singh said.