Policybazaar.com forays into insurance brokerage, opens 15 retail stores

The brand will eventually expand to 100 locations

Leading web aggregator Policybazaar on Friday said it has embarked its insurance broking journey with 15 outlets and aims to expand it to 100 locations.

Recently, insurance regulator IRDAI approved insurance broking licence proposal of the company and will undertake business including insurance aggregation under the broking umbrella.

With this development, the company surrendered its web aggregator licence to Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI).

The company is rolling out comprehensive plans for various segment including fast-growing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to serve customers better by having an offline presence, Policybazaar.com said in a statement.

As a first step, the company is launching offline retail stores across India, it said, adding, the brand has set up 15 stores and will eventually expand to 100 locations.

The brick-and-mortar stores will serve as experience centres for customers and provide them with the comfort of a local physical presence to help resolve any queries or service requests, it said.

Through the stores, customers will have access to Policybazaar's proprietary comparison engines that will help them choose the right insurance product, enhance their ability to compare multiple products, all underpinned by a seamless end-to-end technology in the insurance journey, it added.

To drive the business, the company has roped in former executive director of SBI Life Insurance Rajiv Gupta to lead its expansion plans in the offline space.

Commenting on the expansion, Policybazaar.com CEO Yashish Dahiya said "we could not have done justice to our objective of increasing India's insurance penetration levels with online channels alone. We are glad to be able to offer more products and our services with diversified insurance solutions to those more comfortable with physical meetings and offline stores."

Policybazaar as a broker will now also be able to provide its existing and new customers on-ground claims support, he said, adding, the company through its offline presence aims to cater to this market by offering customers affordable, reliable, and sustainable insurance products.

The parent company PB Fintech also promotes Paisabazaar.com, which is an online credit comparison portal.