Acko Success Story: Leading The Way With New Ideas And Putting Customers In India’s Insurance

In the competitive insurance market where innovation is the key and the customer’s need is the focus, Acko Insurance has quickly excelled and is now one of the most prominent success stories. Launched in 2016 by Varun Dua, Acko has challenged the way conventional insurance industry in India has been operating by leveraging the latest technologies and offering the products that are tailored to the needs of the customer.

Source: Inventiva

Acko: Company Highlights

Acko Success Story: Overview

Acko General Insurance is recognized as the most private owned company within the general insurance sector operating in India. IRDA granted the license to Acko in September 2017 and is now, as an example of innovation in the insurance industry, a vivid demonstration of innovation in the sector. The company is distinctive for its being online-centric, and it manipulates the digital platforms to customers so as they can deliver premium insurance services and individualized products as a surprise element to the customers. 

This method leads to the elimination of all those standard documents that otherwise would take some time reducing the operational workload. Thus, their procedure is quick and hassle-free.

Acko General Insurance, An InsurTech Company, under the leadership of Mr. Varun Dua as Chief Executive Officer, was brought up. The company has by 2018 settled ties with investors of ₹274 crore (US$ 42 million) who are industry leaders Amazon and Accel Partners, SAIF Partners and Catamaran Ventures. Acko General Insurance’s focus lies in consumer products that cover motor insurance, adding to its in-trip domestic insurance and mobile insurance offerings.

Acko Success Story: How It Started?

The story of Acko goes back to the common endeavor of Varun Dua together with Ruchi Deepak, though friends with a long-standing acquaintance, who had a collective vision that would reform the insurance landscape. Before entering the arena of insurencetech, Varun did gain some hands-on experience in the field of insurance while Ruchi has the consultancy skills. The mastery of the two areas helped the both build a good relationship between their customers and insurers, therefore, the business grew and flourished at a considerable rate.

By coincidence, they met during the time of both of them working in a firm named coverfox which was founded by Varun in 2013. Varun drew the attention of Coverfox’s success and imperfections to the service delivery process. Thus, the solution-oriented platform with a fillip will be sketched out in order to figure out problems. Recognizing a not-so-competitive niche in the digital market, Varun, backed by the help of Ruchi, started from scratch, by setting up, in 2016, and subsequently pioneering the first ever digital insurance service in India, which was the groundwork for Acko.

Acko Success Story : Products And Services

With its Ready Insurance and MicroInsurance, Acko General Insurance covers you at the time of an accident or mishap, giving you the peace of mind to focus on things that really matter. Yes, you can speak to an agent about their products and services designed to mitigate against risk, including insurance for your bike, car, group health, etc.  

Source: marksmendaily.com

Acko Car Insurance: Differentiating itself from others through the coverage of multiple risks related to owning a car, their motor vehicle insurance plan offers financial aid which is applicable upon occurrence of loss or exacting damage on your insured vehicle.

Acko Bike Insurance: Under the  plan of bike insurance, you benefit from the coverage that is required for two-wheelers: repair, destruction, and robbery of the device. Riding with the Acko Bike Insurance, motorbike owners get comprehensive insurance coverage for their motorbikes and will be worry-free on hilly or uneven terrain.

Acko Health Insurance: Along with acko health plans, they offer coverage for medical expenses that might occur, when medical services are required which gives their policyholders peace of mind. Adjustable to the needs of every person, Acko’s healthcare insurance plans turn out to be just the secure shelter people need when it’s time to handle medical emergencies.

Acko Life Insurance: The human-format of their  mobile life insurance policy enables the user to buy insurance coverage via mobile devices without the need of face-to-face meeting. Acko covers the entire segment, offering varied plans in this online process, thus making it convenient for customers to subscribe to the one they prefer–be it Term Insurance, Whole Insurance, or others.

Acko Travel Insurance: Travel insurance by us is the one to offer a wide spectrum of insurance or deal with the financial risks and losses sustained during travels. It ensures a safe travel for travellers and its features such as coverage for flight delays, cancellations, misplaced baggage and medical emergencies. Thus, the travellers can be relaxed and enjoy their travelling journey.

Acko Success Story: Overcoming Challenges in the Insurance Sector

This insurance service provider has undergone different challenges touching this sector’s dynamics since its inception. In the past the insurance business was all about offline firms that followed traditional trends and policies. This has given conflicting views like those on rates and emoluments, policies, and procedures.

Initially that company was seeking to fulfil a double purpose with meeting the challenge of both online network establishment and regulating the sector new obstacles are placed on the way. Beside this, establishing and achieving the organization’s goals in terms of making insurance accessible to the consumer, Acko outshines many obstacles and sees an expansion over time.

Acko: Business Model

Source: Inc42

Acko, an Indian digital insurance company, employs a distinctive business model within the insurance sector, characterized by the following key elements: 

 Digital-First Approach: Acko is an online company that reaches its customers through digital platforms. It uses a variety of online tools to provide the desired insurance services. This strategic focus on digital channels allows Acko to remain operational in a cost-effective manner, which in turn facilitates the convenience and timeliness of its interactions with customers.

Direct-to-Consumer Model : Acko is the online insurance provider who enables you to buy or renew your insurance products very easily through its website and mobile application. With the use of middlemen such as agents or brokers, Acko avoids such things as expensive commissions or less transparent processes and assures that customers get only those prices the company can offer.

Data-Driven Underwriting: Acko makes nuanced data analytics and cutting edge tech tools used to define risk and write policies that treat this. Acko Insurance Company analyzes all the diverse data sets like customer behaviour, demography and the historical claim data. This helps them to identify their risks with very high accuracy and enables them to provide insurance options that are customized as per the requirements of each customer.

Technology Focus: One of Acko’s shortcomings lies in the over-focus on the technological aspect of its business which plays a critical role in all key aspects such as customer acquisition, underwriting, claims management, and improving customer services. Incorporating modern technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning at Acko increases the efficiency, facilitates quality customer interactions, and helps with the running costs.

Partnerships and Distribution Channels: Acko, which is the ultimate seller of this product, has its digital platform as the major distribution channels and through the partnerships with the external entities, it would increase its penetration to potential customers. The partnerships of online shopping sites, ride-hailing companies, and digital payment platforms, serve as an insurance vehicle for the policyholders of the company by increasing access to insurance and more unique customer segments.

Innovative Product Offerings: Acko is of the opinion that establishing the successfulness of an insurance company is achieved by bringing forward new innovative products specifically formulated to meet changing customer needs. They are the providers of services including micro-insurance, pay-as-you-go insurance, and pay-per-use insurance, which create the possibility of tailoring the insurance packages to the individual needs of the customers.

Streamlined Claims Processing: Acko as a general rule adopts the strategy of simplification and speeding up of the claims settlement business, inter alia, using the technologies and automation.

Acko: Revenue Model

Acko’s revenue model is strategically designed to encompass various methods aimed at diversifying its income streams:

Premiums: Where the primary income of Acko is that of collecting premiums from a global insured audience which consists of individual and corporate customers of different countries.

Commissions: Acko is also reliant on commissions that it earns through its partners as well as through the development of partnerships which allows it to provide the insurance products to the clients or employees of its partners as an added feature.

Data Monetization: The company has a data-dependent methodology to boost productivity and profitability by converting consumer data into revenue, through the right product placement and effective risk identification. The data gathered from the repository is employed for analytical, proactive advertising, and market strategies. Therefore, the company is endowed with the rare capability to use its data repositories to improve its overall business strategy.

Acko Success Story : Key Performance Metrics of Company

However, the company is proud of the fact that it has catered to a clientele of 2.8 million customers and has viewed over 8 million policies. A nearly perfect claim settlement record of 94.54%, is an evidence of this insurer’s promise to perform perfectly on service delivery. More importantly, it is worth mentioning that the company has even gone the extra mile by setting the record for the quickest claim settlement of only 12 minutes long, which it reached in January 2024, where it can be testified to the company’s commitment to providing fast and efficient resolution of customer needs.

Acko: Overcoming Challenges 

ACKO encountered a fundamental obstacle in its trajectory within the insurance sector: confidence and trust. Due to many insurance providers and deceptive attempts as well as unfulfilled promises of premium claims settlement, trust was the important challenge the company had to unearth during the early stage of the business. 

Consequently, in addition to devising and implementing the plan for removing the mentioned prejudices among clients, Varun concentrated on instilling the feeling of confidence among customers by paying due attention to their comfort and the simplification of what seemed to be a very complex process for them.

Acko: Funding And Investor

Acko: Partners

Acko: Top Competitors

Conclusion

Acko by far has made tremendous progress from an embryonic company to one that has a dominant position in the market. They are eager and always do their best to please the customers, make modifications and be open-minded. Acko principles are based on client satisfaction but apply cutting-edge technology in doing things better. They have influenced the way insurance is done in India, now making it better and reliable for both consumers and owners.