Digit Insurance 1st unicorn of this year

Digit Insurance is the latest Indian unicorn. The company was valued at $1.9 billion after its latest fund-raise of Rs 135 crore from existing investors. The insurer raised funds as growth capital to meet solvency margin requirements following a 32% growth in the first nine months as against a 0.1% growth for the industry.

The private insurer had raised its first external round of funding from three growth Avestors A91 Partners, Faering Capital and TVS Capital in January 2020. This investment gave them a 10% stake in the nonlife firm and had valued the company at around $900 million. The latest round of funding increases their stake by 1%. A holding company, where Goyal and Fairfax are key investors, holds 88%.

Although in a conventional industry, Digit has positioned itself as a new-age insurer by using technology to simplify the process for customers like smartphone-enabled self-inspection and audio claims. The private insurance company was launched in 2017 promoted by insurance professional Kamesh Goyal in partnership with Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa’s Fairfax Holdings.

Digit expanded business during the pandemic launching new products including a fixed-benefit cover for Covid-19 under the insurance regulator’s sandbox initiative. The largest non-life company in the country, the 100-year-old New India Assurance has market capitalisation of $3 billion.