Latest news with #Acko
Economic Times
03-06-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Rohit Kapoor on Swiggy's food delivery slowdown; Group life insurance gains traction
Happy Tuesday! As the food delivery market cools, aggregators are scrambling to find growth avenues. This and more in today's ETtech Morning Dispatch. Also in the letter: ■ Krutrim AI's uptake struggles ■ ETtech Done Deals■ Tata Electronics' Malaysia foray Pushing value meals and 10-min food delivery to revive growth: Swiggy's Rohit Kapoor Rohit Kapoor, CEO (food marketplace), Swiggy As the food delivery market cools, Swiggy is turning to quick meals, affordable combos, and deeper city penetration to stoke demand. What's happening: In an exclusive interview with ET, Swiggy's food marketplace CEO Rohit Kapoor said growth will now come from low-frequency users and category innovation, not merely from city expansion. He also called for a more open dialogue between platforms and restaurants on commissions. Swiggy is focusing on three key growth drivers in food delivery: Expanding delivery-friendly categories Drawing low-frequency users into the fold with value bundles Scaling 10-minute deliveries via its Bolt platform By the numbers: Swiggy's food delivery GOV grew 17.6% YoY in Q4 Bolt now accounts for 12% of Swiggy's delivery volumes Food delivery covers around 700 cities; density, not geography, is now the focus Also Read: How Swiggy and Zomato are dealing with the slowdown in food delivery Why it matters: With quick commerce eating into food delivery profits, Swiggy and Zomato are under pressure to revive their core businesses. Kapoor says there's latent demand to tap — but unlocking it depends on restaurant supply, better aggregator-partner dynamics, and faster fulfilment. On restaurant partners: Aggregators' ties with restaurant partners have been strained in recent years over the commissions rates. Kapoor acknowledged the need for more conversation, but argued the current narrative often overlooks the larger economic shift aggregators have enabled. Also Read: Swiggy Food CEO Rohit Kapoor sees Bolt as core future offering New-age life insurance firms tap group products to boost business Acko, Go Digit and CreditAccess, three new-age life insurance players licensed in 2023, have completed their first full financial year in FY25. Industry data shows that in their initial phase, all three have leaned heavily on group insurance policies to drive early growth. Driving the news: Data sourced from the Life Insurance Council reveals sharp contrasts in their premium collections. Acko has written life insurance premiums worth Rs 63 crore. Go Digit has crossed Rs 1,000 crore. CreditAccess has processed close to Rs 200 crore in life insurance premiums. Different paths: Go Digit continues to scale rapidly in general insurance, while Acko is betting on a digital-first, direct-to-consumer model to disrupt traditional distribution. Beyond the numbers: Early trends suggest that the trio have focused on employer-employee group life products and credit-linked insurance policies. Why this strategy? It allows for quick ramp-up in premium volumes It helps test systems and processes for corporate sales, ahead of a retail push. It ensures a smoother claims settlement experience for customers. Challenges remain: While these players made waves in general insurance, industry insiders say life insurance will be a tougher battleground. Why is that? Trust takes longer to build in life insurance Higher ticket size products need more persuasion and often, physical intermediation. Claims settlement is complex and often requires last-mile human support Also Read: Go Digit General Insurance doubles net profit in Q4 FY25; posts third straight profitable year Sponsor ETtech Top 5 & Morning Dispatch! Why it matters: ETtech Top 5 and Morning Dispatch are must-reads for India's tech and business leaders, including startup founders, investors, policy makers, industry insiders and employees. The opportunity: Reach a highly engaged audience of decision-makers. Boost your brand's visibility among the tech-savvy community. Custom sponsorship options to align with your brand's goals. What's next: Interested? Reach out to us at spotlightpartner@ to explore sponsorship opportunities. Krutrim finds few takers for its LLMs and cloud products Bhavish Aggarwal, founder, Krutrim In a setback to Bhavish Aggarwal and the broader Indian AI ambitions, several founders and investors told ET that Krutrim large language models (LLMs) and cloud offerings have received a lukewarm response from the market. Driving the news: Krutrim, the AI venture backed by the Ola group, became India's first AI unicorn in 2024, after raising $50 million at a $1 billion valuation. But the company has since faced product roadblocks and leadership churn. Founders cited poor documentation as a key issue with Krutrim's products. They also flagged a lack of technical maturity. Many startups continue to prefer established hyperscalers like Google Cloud and Amazon Web Services. More than 20 employees have exited the company since 2024. Tell me more: Krutrim offers a chatbot and cloud services, but usability issues persist. Two founders reported difficulties simply logging into the chatbot. Similar issues surfaced with Krutrim AI model also suffers from high latency, which refers to response time, deterring potential users. In tests reviewed by ET, Krutrim's AI chatbot took 41 seconds to generate a response to a single prompt. In contrast, ChatGPT-4o and DeepSeek responded in under 10 seconds. Also Read: Social media abuzz about toxic work culture at Ola Krutrim after employee's 'suicide' ETtech Done Deals Vaibhav Gupta, CEO, Udaan Udaan closes latest funding round at $114 million: B2B ecommerce platform Udaan has raised $114 million in a fresh funding round led by existing investors, M&G Prudential (UK) and Lightspeed Venture Partners. Round details: The round closed at a flat valuation of $1.8 billion and includes the previously disclosed $75 million investment from the same two investors, which founder and CEO Vaibhav Gupta announced at a town hall earlier this year. Furniture retailer Pepperfry raises Rs 43 crore: Omnichannel furniture and home goods company Pepperfry has raised Rs 43.3 crore from existing investors Norwest Venture Partners, Goldman Sachs, General Electric Pension Trust, Growth Equity Opportunity Fund, and Panthera Growth Partners, among others. Wealthtech startup Stable Money raises $20 million: Wealthtech startup Stable Money, which provides digital fixed-return investment products, has raised $20 million (Rs 173 crore) in a funding round led by Infosys cofounder Nandan Nilekani's Fundamentum Partnership. Other Top Stories By Our Reporters Tata Electronics eyes Malaysia foray via chip fab acquisition: Tata Electronics is in talks with several global semiconductor companies including X-Fab, DNeX and Globetronics to acquire a fabrication or outsourced semiconductor assembly and test (OSAT) plant in Malaysia. Infosys paid CEO Salil Parekh Rs 80.62 crore as salary in FY25: Indian IT major Infosys chief executive officer (CEO) Salil Parekh received a 22% rise in his annual compensation to Rs 80.6 crore for the fiscal year 2024-25 ending March, the company's annual report showed. Nykaa shares drop over 5% despite strong Q4 performance: Shares of Nykaa parent FSN E-commerce declined as much as 5.11% to 192.85 a piece during Monday's trade. The scrip closed 4.33% lower at Rs 194.45 per share, compared to a 0.09% decline in the benchmark Sensex. The counter opened 1.1% lower at Rs 201, against the previous closing of Rs 203.25 on the BSE. Tesla unlikely to make in India: All you need to know | Electric vehicle maker Tesla, helmed by Elon Musk, is not keen on manufacturing in India despite the government wooing it aggressively through policy incentives. Global Picks We Are Reading ■ A Neuralink rival just tested a brain implant in a person (Wired) ■ 'Humanity deserves better': Jony Ive and Laurene Powell Jobs on tech's next chapter (FT) ■ This giant microwave may change the future of war (MIT Technology Review) Updated On Jun 03, 2025, 07:21 AM IST
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
New-age life insurance firms tap group products to boost business
New-age life insurers Acko, Go Digit and CreditAccess, all of whom received life insurance licences in 2023, are betting on group products to drive premium collection and the business. According to data from industry body Life Insurance Council, Acko Life Insurance 's premium collection almost doubled to Rs 63 crore in fiscal 2025, compared with Rs 36 crore in FY24. Go Digit Life recorded Rs 1,068 crore in FY2025 compared with Rs 426 crore a year back. Credit Access Life Insurance recorded Rs 193 crore in insurance premium compared with Rs 97 crore the previous year. This was the first full year of operations for these new-generation life insurance companies. Both Acko and Go Digit had the general insurance licence prior to that. While Go Digit is a publicly listed company now, Acko is privately held and was last valued at $1.4 billion in a funding round in 2023 . by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Giao dịch vàng CFDs với sàn môi giới tin cậy IC Markets Tìm hiểu thêm Undo 'Most of these new-generation companies have sold group life covers in their first financial year, which has helped them to bulk up premium collection quickly. It also helps set the internal and sales processes quickly,' a senior executive at an insurtech startup said on the condition of anonymity. Under group products, life insurance companies typically sell employer-employee life covers and also club insurance covers to credit customers. Live Events 'Our initial focus was on group products, leveraging the quicker setup of servicing and sales infrastructure. Today, we have a balanced mix of both group and retail products, with plans to expand both segments equally,' Go Digit Life Insurance chief executive officer Sabyasachi Sarkar said. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Go Digit Life has four retail products and three group products and is hoping to scale up both businesses in the coming quarters, Sarkar added. The new-generation insurance companies had adopted a retail-first approach for their general insurance business. Both Go Digit and Acko had focused on retail automobile insurance as the key product to scale up their business, but for life business they have gone the group business route. The industry executive cited earlier in the story pointed out that for the life insurance play, it is always easier to disrupt the group market because most of the business there is pricing driven and also is up for renewal every year. 'For products like life, customer trust is the key, building that takes time, hence one way of getting into the market is through employer-employee products where consumers will get to know the brand, experience the claims settlement process and eventually start trusting the brand,' the executive said. In general insurance, these startups had disrupted the business with strong use of technology and also by adding direct sales as a large part of their business, without depending fully on agents and broker networks. 'Employer-employee products are a focus area for us. Digit Life in its first full year of operations (FY25) has clocked over Rs 1,300 crore gross written premium,' Sarkar of Go Digit told ET. But these brands are likely to face much bigger challenges in the life business, according to industry insiders. 'I think new-age life insurance companies will need to invest heavily in customer experience, ensure smooth claim settlement processes to give confidence to customers and also work very closely with the regulator,' said Vivek Ramji Iyer, partner in charge of financial services at Grant Thornton Bharat. To quickly build trust during the purchase process, startups can invest in creating a claims settlement simulation process, Iyer said. 'They should also target rural areas to increase penetration of insurance cover, for that they can look to partner with common service centres in rural India.'
Time of India
03-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
New-age life insurers tap group business opportunity in their first year of ops
New-age life insurers Acko, Go Digit and CreditAccess, all of whom received life insurance licences in 2023, are betting on group products to drive premium collection and the business. According to data from industry body Life Insurance Council, Acko Life Insurance 's premium collection almost doubled to Rs 63 crore in fiscal 2025, compared with Rs 36 crore in FY24. Go Digit Life recorded Rs 1,068 crore in FY2025 compared with Rs 426 crore a year back. Credit Access Life Insurance recorded Rs 193 crore in insurance premium compared with Rs 97 crore the previous year. This was the first full year of operations for these new-generation life insurance companies. Both Acko and Go Digit had the general insurance licence prior to that. While Go Digit is a publicly listed company now, Acko is privately held and was last valued at $1.4 billion in a funding round in 2023. 'Most of these new-generation companies have sold group life covers in their first financial year, which has helped them to bulk up premium collection quickly. It also helps set the internal and sales processes quickly,' a senior executive at an insurtech startup said on the condition of anonymity. Under group products, life insurance companies typically sell employer-employee life covers and also club insurance covers to credit customers. Live Events 'Our initial focus was on group products, leveraging the quicker setup of servicing and sales infrastructure. Today, we have a balanced mix of both group and retail products, with plans to expand both segments equally,' Go Digit Life Insurance chief executive officer Sabyasachi Sarkar said. Discover the stories of your interest Blockchain 5 Stories Cyber-safety 7 Stories Fintech 9 Stories E-comm 9 Stories ML 8 Stories Edtech 6 Stories Go Digit Life has four retail products and three group products and is hoping to scale up both businesses in the coming quarters, Sarkar added. The new-generation insurance companies had adopted a retail-first approach for their general insurance business. Both Go Digit and Acko had focused on retail automobile insurance as the key product to scale up their business, but for life business they have gone the group business route. The industry executive cited earlier in the story pointed out that for the life insurance play, it is always easier to disrupt the group market because most of the business there is pricing driven and also is up for renewal every year. 'For products like life, customer trust is the key, building that takes time, hence one way of getting into the market is through employer-employee products where consumers will get to know the brand, experience the claims settlement process and eventually start trusting the brand,' the executive said. In general insurance, these startups had disrupted the business with strong use of technology and also by adding direct sales as a large part of their business, without depending fully on agents and broker networks. 'Employer-employee products are a focus area for us. Digit Life in its first full year of operations (FY25) has clocked over Rs 1,300 crore gross written premium,' Sarkar of Go Digit told ET. But these brands are likely to face much bigger challenges in the life business, according to industry insiders. 'I think new-age life insurance companies will need to invest heavily in customer experience, ensure smooth claim settlement processes to give confidence to customers and also work very closely with the regulator,' said Vivek Ramji Iyer, partner in charge of financial services at Grant Thornton Bharat. To quickly build trust during the purchase process, startups can invest in creating a claims settlement simulation process, Iyer said. 'They should also target rural areas to increase penetration of insurance cover, for that they can look to partner with common service centres in rural India.'
Economic Times
24-05-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Acko General Insurance fined Rs 1 crore by IRDAI: Will you be affected if you bought a policy from Acko?
IRDAI fined Acko General Insurance Rs 1 crore for regulatory lapses involving Ola Financial Services (OFSPL). Acko made payments to Ola Financial Services disguised as advertisement and API fees, even when OFSPL lacked authorization to solicit and sell insurance. Read on to know whether the policies purchased during this period will remain valid and what the perils of buying policies from unregistered intermediaries are. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Does this impact the validity of insurance policies purchased from Acko or Ola Financial Services? What are the consequences of buying insurance policies from unregistered intermediaries or corporate agents? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads How can consumers know whether the person selling them insurance is legally authorised? India's insurance watchdog, IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority), recently fined general insurer Acko Rs 1 crore for multiple regulatory lapses in its outsourcing and commission practices. These include engaging with Ola Financial Services Private Limited (OFSPL) to solicit or aid in selling insurance policies , even when OFSPL was not legally authorised to do the payments made by Acko to OFSPL were largely in the nature of commission/remuneration and rewards for such solicitation, made under the guise of paying them for advertisement, web branding, and API infrastructure service fees, which flout the provisions of the Insurance Act, the order by IRDAI highlighted, 'the insurer (Acko) entered into this arrangement just to pass on excess payments to OFSPL under the guise of an API agreement, which is not otherwise permitted by the regulations. And though the insurer entered into an advertisement agreement with OFSPL on 14th November, 2018, they started making payments under this head prior to the agreement.'Acko and Ola representatives did not respond to our request for on to know how this ruling will impact the policyholders and what the impacts of buying insurance policies from unauthorised intermediaries Explains Priya Dhankhar, Counsel, SKV Law Offices, 'The IRDAI order issued against Acko General Insurance pertains to regulatory issues, not to the core insurance policies issued to consumers. There is no suggestion in the order that policies issued via OFSPL are invalid, unenforceable, or compromised in any way.''As such, there is no direct adverse impact on policyholders. All insurance policies sold by Acko, including those issued during the period under scrutiny, remain legally valid and enforceable. Policyholders can continue to avail themselves of claims and policy benefits per their contractual terms,' she Agarwal, Founder, Legum Solis, concurs. 'As there is nothing in the order or in the law that talks about such policies falling through, there does not seem to be any impact on the policyholders who bought Acko policies.'According to the order, 'From FY 2018-19 to January 2021, OFSPL was neither a corporate agent nor an intermediary of the company. OFSPL became a corporate agent of the company only in January 2021. OFSPL was purely a service provider of the company, appointed for technology and marketing services.'Moreover, IRDAI highlighted that OFSPL did not have the required expertise in providing any infrastructural services for the issuance of insurance policies by API or providing advertisement since OFSPL was purely a service provider of Acko appointed for technology and marketing services and was not a registered corporate agent, they could not have legally solicited insurance policies during this with unregistered corporate agents can be risky for policyholders, since they could end up receiving misinformation about insurance policies. Such an unregulated entity may prefer earning higher commissions on the sale of more policies than protecting policyholders' Dhankar, 'When insurers use unlicensed or unauthorised entities to distribute insurance products, it poses several risks to consumers. First, such intermediaries may not have the required training, regulatory oversight, or ethical obligations, which increases the likelihood of mis-selling or inaccurate disclosures.''Consumers may receive misleading information about product features, exclusions, or claim procedures. Second, there is little recourse available in case of grievances—unlicensed agents are not accountable under IRDAI's framework, leaving policyholders unprotected. Lastly, if such intermediaries are driven by non-transparent or unregulated incentives, their advice may prioritise commissions over the consumer's best interests,' she according to the order, OFSPL was issued a certificate of registration that was valid between 11th September, 2019, and 10th September, 2022. However, this did not entitle them to 'advertisement and API charges paid to them by Acko, which were in the nature of rewards.'In other words, Acko made payments to Ola Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. (OFSPL), which was not a registered intermediary for part of the relevant period. However, at present, OFSPL is a registered corporate agent, with its present license valid till September 10, 2025.'Payments made to unlicensed intermediaries also may not be securely handled. There is likely to be a lack of accountability, which may impact consumers' right to recourse. Unregulated intermediaries are also not obligated to adhere to any data protection standards,' says Trinath Tadakamalla, partner at Solaris can protect themselves by taking a few simple steps to verify the credentials of anyone selling them an insurance policy. IRDAI maintains a public register of all licensed insurance agents and intermediaries on its website ( where customers can cross-check the name or license number of the person or consumers should ask the intermediary (from where they are purchasing their policy) for their IRDAI registration details and confirm whether they are acting as a corporate agent, broker, or web aggregator. If the policy is being sold via a digital platform or app, consumers should ensure that the platform is listed as an authorised partner by the insurer. In case of doubt, consumers may contact the insurance company directly to confirm the legitimacy of the seller and to understand whether any incentives or commissions apply.
Time of India
24-05-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Acko General Insurance fined Rs 1 crore by IRDAI: Will you be affected if you bought a policy from Acko?
IRDAI fined Acko General Insurance Rs 1 crore for regulatory lapses involving Ola Financial Services (OFSPL). Acko made payments to Ola Financial Services disguised as advertisement and API fees, even when OFSPL lacked authorization to solicit and sell insurance. Read on to know whether the policies purchased during this period will remain valid and what the perils of buying policies from unregistered intermediaries are. Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads Does this impact the validity of insurance policies purchased from Acko or Ola Financial Services? What are the consequences of buying insurance policies from unregistered intermediaries or corporate agents? Tired of too many ads? Remove Ads How can consumers know whether the person selling them insurance is legally authorised? India's insurance watchdog, IRDAI (Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority), recently fined general insurer Acko Rs 1 crore for multiple regulatory lapses in its outsourcing and commission practices. These include engaging with Ola Financial Services Private Limited (OFSPL) to solicit or aid in selling insurance policies , even when OFSPL was not legally authorised to do the payments made by Acko to OFSPL were largely in the nature of commission/remuneration and rewards for such solicitation, made under the guise of paying them for advertisement, web branding, and API infrastructure service fees, which flout the provisions of the Insurance Act, the order by IRDAI highlighted, 'the insurer (Acko) entered into this arrangement just to pass on excess payments to OFSPL under the guise of an API agreement, which is not otherwise permitted by the regulations. And though the insurer entered into an advertisement agreement with OFSPL on 14th November, 2018, they started making payments under this head prior to the agreement.'Acko and Ola representatives did not respond to our request for on to know how this ruling will impact the policyholders and what the impacts of buying insurance policies from unauthorised intermediaries Explains Priya Dhankhar, Counsel, SKV Law Offices, 'The IRDAI order issued against Acko General Insurance pertains to regulatory issues, not to the core insurance policies issued to consumers. There is no suggestion in the order that policies issued via OFSPL are invalid, unenforceable, or compromised in any way.''As such, there is no direct adverse impact on policyholders. All insurance policies sold by Acko, including those issued during the period under scrutiny, remain legally valid and enforceable. Policyholders can continue to avail themselves of claims and policy benefits per their contractual terms,' she Agarwal, Founder, Legum Solis, concurs. 'As there is nothing in the order or in the law that talks about such policies falling through, there does not seem to be any impact on the policyholders who bought Acko policies.'According to the order, 'From FY 2018-19 to January 2021, OFSPL was neither a corporate agent nor an intermediary of the company. OFSPL became a corporate agent of the company only in January 2021. OFSPL was purely a service provider of the company, appointed for technology and marketing services.'Moreover, IRDAI highlighted that OFSPL did not have the required expertise in providing any infrastructural services for the issuance of insurance policies by API or providing advertisement since OFSPL was purely a service provider of Acko appointed for technology and marketing services and was not a registered corporate agent, they could not have legally solicited insurance policies during this with unregistered corporate agents can be risky for policyholders, since they could end up receiving misinformation about insurance policies. Such an unregulated entity may prefer earning higher commissions on the sale of more policies than protecting policyholders' Dhankar, 'When insurers use unlicensed or unauthorised entities to distribute insurance products, it poses several risks to consumers. First, such intermediaries may not have the required training, regulatory oversight, or ethical obligations, which increases the likelihood of mis-selling or inaccurate disclosures.''Consumers may receive misleading information about product features, exclusions, or claim procedures. Second, there is little recourse available in case of grievances—unlicensed agents are not accountable under IRDAI's framework, leaving policyholders unprotected. Lastly, if such intermediaries are driven by non-transparent or unregulated incentives, their advice may prioritise commissions over the consumer's best interests,' she according to the order, OFSPL was issued a certificate of registration that was valid between 11th September, 2019, and 10th September, 2022. However, this did not entitle them to 'advertisement and API charges paid to them by Acko, which were in the nature of rewards.'In other words, Acko made payments to Ola Financial Services Pvt. Ltd. (OFSPL), which was not a registered intermediary for part of the relevant period. However, at present, OFSPL is a registered corporate agent, with its present license valid till September 10, 2025.'Payments made to unlicensed intermediaries also may not be securely handled. There is likely to be a lack of accountability, which may impact consumers' right to recourse. Unregulated intermediaries are also not obligated to adhere to any data protection standards,' says Trinath Tadakamalla, partner at Solaris can protect themselves by taking a few simple steps to verify the credentials of anyone selling them an insurance policy. IRDAI maintains a public register of all licensed insurance agents and intermediaries on its website ( where customers can cross-check the name or license number of the person or consumers should ask the intermediary (from where they are purchasing their policy) for their IRDAI registration details and confirm whether they are acting as a corporate agent, broker, or web aggregator. If the policy is being sold via a digital platform or app, consumers should ensure that the platform is listed as an authorised partner by the insurer. In case of doubt, consumers may contact the insurance company directly to confirm the legitimacy of the seller and to understand whether any incentives or commissions apply.
