Mumbai, India (CU)_ Ruchi Deepak, the co-founder of ACKO General Insurance, has worked with organizations such as Templeton and Matrix Partners for more than 11 years in India and the United Kingdom. ACKO General Insurance was born out of her desire to create something beneficial for the customers while also repaying to the society. In 2017, she co-founded ACKO along with Varun Dua following her 11 years experience in financial services. She intended to make insurance easy and accessible for retail customers.
Ruchi detailed ACKO’s business process. She said, “With ACKO’s launch we moved one step closer to our objective: To enable and empower the customers to make their own independent decision of purchasing a financial product, buy it on their own and also experience on their own and not be dependent on third parties for these matters. ACKO makes insurance simple, seamless and digital.”
ACKO has provided more than 800 million policies to over 62 million unique clients, making it one of India’s fastest growing digital insurance companies. ACKO is also a sachet insurance innovator, introducing contextual microinsurance solutions to market through partnerships with over 24 prominent online ecosystem firms including Ola, Oyo, Goibibo-redbus, Urban Clap, and Zomato.
ACKO is currently witnessing 100% annual growth, with GWP increasing from around INR 1419 million in fiscal year 2018-2019 to nearly INR 3731 million in the fiscal year 2020 until March 31. ACKO has an 8% market share of all online car insurance purchases in India and a market share of over 18% of digitally transacting individuals.
Ruchi explained about the brand’s future and said that customer satisfaction and quality services are their main focus. She said, “We focus not just on the product but also the service aspect of the business where the real meaning of customer experience lies. We are therefore building infrastructure to offer insurance related services to improve customer experience/claims servicing. Our focus will be the customer, customer service and simplicity of our offerings.”
ACKO’s microinsurance products are in line with this philosophy. A microinsurance product can bring value to digital clients in a variety of ways, such as flight delays or cancellations, ecommerce deliveries, and so on. They intend to create bespoke products for a variety of platforms in order to meet customer requirements and provide them peace of mind. Through microinsurance, they can connect with clients more frequently than they can with traditional insurance. ACKO stands out from its competitors due to its revolutionary products, transparency, ease of use, and convenience. They are India’s first full-stack online insurance and consumer attention will be the driving force for them.
Ruchi spoke about the company’s strengths and future scope. She said, “Our succession plan is already in place, for the company is replete with extremely passionate talent and leaders. ACKO operates independently of its founders. We are very fortunate to have a team which shares the same passion and works independently. We have a strong Board with Independent Directors. It is evident to us that the company is in safe hands, and therefore, we are not worried about succession and continuity at all.”
