Online general insurer Acko General Insurance gets IRDAI nod

Chennai, Sep 22 : Indian insurance sector regulator IRDAI has given the final nod to online non-life insurer Acko General Insurance Ltd, the company said.

"We are looking to start operations by December 2017, by selling multiple products through online channel," Varun Dua, company founder and CEO-Designate was quoted as saying in a statement.

"Our team has mapped a huge opportunity to tap into online general insurance segment which is estimated to be over $10 billion annually... this has helped us to take a plunge as an insuretech that is completely digital in the general insurance space without the traditional set-up of the brick and mortar format," he added.

Dua said the focus would be to make insurance affordable and relevant to customers with less frills and more value to suit their needs.

The company had filed the application for the licence with the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) to set up a general insurance company in November 2016.

Acko General Insurance is currently directing its endeavors to strengthen the team, set-up robust tech processes, and forge alliances to formulate and customize products as per the need of the customers, the statement said.

Founded by Dua, the company has recently raised the largest amount of seed round of $30 million.

However the statement is silent on the total equity capital of the company and the shareholding pattern.