Amazon India Invades $280 Bn Insurance Market; Will Become Insurance Agent in India!
Amazon India is following the footsteps of Paytm, which is now selling mutual funds via Paytm Money
In an interesting turn of events, Amazon, world’s biggest online portal has decided to become an insurance agent in India.
If this happens, then after Paytm’s plans to sell mutual funds in India, this will be one of the biggest stories of India’s financial market.
How will this work? And will this work?
Keep reading to find out more!
Amazon India: We Will Sell Insurance in India!
Amazon India has filed fresh filings with Registrar of Companies, and as per the available information, they will sell General, Health and Life Insurance in India.
As per the filings made, Amazon will do ‘soliciting, procuring and servicing insurance as a corporate agent.’
India is one of the strongest markets for Amazon, as more than 10 million Indians are Prime users, and they are witnessing an exponential growth.
Now, once they become Insurance Agents, and openly offer General Insurance, and Health, Life Insurance policies, then the market will expand.
The same thoughts were shared by Policy Bazaar co-founder Yashish Dahiya, as he said, “It’s good that some of the large technology players with capital are looking to enter,”
Policy Bazaar is one of the biggest aggregators of insurance policies and sells more than 3,00,000 new policies and renewals per month.
How Will Amazon’s Insurance Business Work in India?
India’s insurance sector is still in its nascent stage, as only 3.7% of Indians are insured via any insurance coverage policy (2017 data). By 2020, the industry of insurance is all set to cross $280 billion as per the latest numbers shared by IBEF (India Brand Equity Foundation).
This means that tremendous potential exists in the country, and Amazon has decided to make a very timely entry into this niche.
Now, Amazon has already received their license for their ewallet: Amazon Pay last year, and this makes some sense now.
Amazon Pay users can now purchase insurance with one-click, as KYC and other formalities would have been over for them.
Amazon India is still awaiting approval from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority regarding their insurance agent application.
As of now, we are not aware whether Amazon Pay will be used in the insurance business or not.
Paytm Money, which sells mutual funds in India, may observe this Amazon’s move as a threat.
We will keep you updated, as we receive more news.
