Page 67 - Bloomberg Businessweek-October 29, 2018

Bloomberg Businessweek October 29, 2018
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India’s New Unicorns T

Aren’t Just Clones
E

● The country’s latest his daughter’s schooling had to come first, Yama
scoffs in Hindi, “A 10 million rupee insurance pol-
generation of $1 billion startups wager of about $9 a month for a possible payout C
icy comes at just 680 rupees a month!” (That’s a
has more seriously tailored
services to local needs of roughly $130,000.)
cials, facilitates comparison shopping for insurance, H
Like the ad, the app is well-tailored for its audi-
ence. Policybazaar, the startup behind the commer-

You get a clear sense of Policybazaar’s target a novelty in a country where only 3.7 percent of the
audience the first time you watch Yama, the Hindu 1.3 billion citizens have coverage. The 10-year-old
god of death, drag a bedridden man to hell for and has helped generate unprecedented demand for N
company takes a 20 percent cut of sales on its site
f ailing to buy insurance. In a series of melodra-
matic TV spots, the fearsome deity, played by insurance: The overall industry collected $72 billion
movie star Akshay Kumar, isn’t shy to quote rates, in gross annual premiums this year, according to the
either. After the hospitalized accident victim he’s compared with $49 billion in 2012. “We brought O
Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry,
tormenting laments that his sister’s wedding and
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PHOTOGRAPH BY CAROLINE TOMPKINS FOR BLOOMBERG BUSINESSWEEK Jeff Muskus

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