Indonesian online insurance marketplace PasarPolis, which is backed by three Indonesian unicorns, plans to further disrupt the insurance industry not only in its huge home country but across Southeast Asia.
“We see enormous opportunities in the Southeast Asian market. We aim to increase insurance penetration and literacy in these regions and help democratize access to insurance products,” its newly-appointed President Peter Van Zyl told TNGlobal in an interview.
“Our core mission is to address the significant insurance gap and unequal insurance distribution in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia. We remain steadfastly committed to this objective,” he said.
“Through strategic collaboration with established partners like Tap Insure, a general insurance company registered and supervised by Indonesia’s Financial Authority, we’re able to have greater control over our offerings and create more efficient, tailored insurance solutions for our customers,” he explained.
“Our innovative insurtech ecosystem allows us unparalleled flexibility in innovating insurance, making the customer experience 10 times better through frictionless, simpler, and more affordable processes. We are also proud of our claim settlement speed, settling 98 percent of B2B2C claims in less than 24 hours and 95 percent of total device insurance claims in less than 2 hours,” he added.
Van Zyl has been appointed as PasarPolis President in July. His tenure in the insurance industry includes over seven years as Director and CEO of Allianz Indonesia and a 15-year stint in various senior roles at AIG.
Founded in 2015, PasarPolis is Southeast Asia’s Insurtech company headquartered in Indonesia. Since its launch, PasarPolis said it has issued over 1 billion policies. Nine in ten of PasarPolis’ 80 million customers had never purchased insurance policies before, while 40 percent are workers in the informal sector, including taxi drivers, couriers, and online MSMEs (micro, small, medium entrepreneurs).
PasarPolis will continually innovate more embedded insurance products by offering various types of insurance such as travel, home content, logistics, electronic, device health, life, auto/motor vehicle insurance and more, the company said in a statement in July.
“While we are currently focusing on markets where we already have a presence – Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam – we remain open to exploring other potential regions that align with our strategic goals and offer favorable market conditions,” Van Zyl said.
PasarPolis has seen a 3 times year-on-year gross written premiums (GWP) growth between 2022 and 2021, according to Van Zyl. To date, PasarPolis has raised over $59 million and is the first insurtech backed by three Indonesian Unicorns, including Gojek, Tokopedia, and Traveloka.
In the interview, Van Zyl also shared PasarPolis’ short-term and long-term plans, the company’s strategy and the challenges it faced. He also shared his views on the overall insurance industry in Indonesia and Southeast Asia.
Below are the edited excerpts:
There are more insurtech firms offering insurance products online. What is PasarPolis’ competitive advantage against other insurtech companies?
At PasarPolis, our core mission is to address the significant insurance gap and unequal insurance distribution in Southeast Asia, particularly in Indonesia. We remain steadfastly committed to this objective. Through strategic collaboration with established partners like Tap Insure, a general insurance company registered and supervised by Indonesia’s Financial Authority, we’re able to have greater control over our offerings and create more efficient, tailored insurance solutions for our customers. Our innovative insurtech ecosystem allows us unparalleled flexibility in innovating insurance, making the customer experience 10x better through frictionless, simpler, and more affordable processes. We are also proud of our claim settlement speed, settling 98 percent of B2B2C claims in less than 24 hours and 95 percent of total device insurance claims in less than two hours.
What’s PasarPolis’ short term plan and long term plan? Which are the segment you are focusing now? Any plan to expand and introduce other products?
Our short and long term goal is to reinforce our position as an undisrupted insurtech leader providing digital insurance products and services in Indonesia, and eventually Southeast Asia.
We are determined to provide insurance products and services that are not only affordable but also easy, simple, and seamless. We are focusing on improving the insurance experience for our customers through digitization. In terms of expansion and new products, we are open to opportunities as they align with our core mission and objectives.
It seems like PasarPolis has a different focus on each of its markets it is operating in. Could you further elaborate on this? How PasarPolis decide what kind of products to launch in its respective markets?
At PasarPolis, our focus is on delivering the best products and maintaining a strong relationship with our strategic partners and customers. We believe in maintaining a respectful and fair marketplace in line with our mission to deliver insurance for everyone across market segments.
This involves leveraging technology and innovation to make insurance simpler, easier to access, affordable and delightful.
PasarPolis recognized the opportunity to tap into our existing markets and has done so with great success. Its omnichannel platform combines online and offline channels to offer a seamless and integrated customer experience. Through partnerships with over 40+ digital ecosystem distribution partners and 50+ insurance providers, PasarPolis has issued 500 million insurance policies in 2022 alone, making insurance more accessible to the masses. Nine in ten of PasarPolis’ 80 million customers had never purchased insurance policies before, while 40 percent are workers in the informal sector, including taxi drivers, couriers, and online MSMEs.
Would like to know more about PasarPolis’ strategy. Will it launch different products based on the different demands in different market? Could you walk us through or provide more details?
We align our strategies with the goal of solving people’s daily problems based on their everyday needs. This aligns with our mission to democratize insurance by making it more accessible, affordable, and customer-friendly.
Therefore, we do intend to launch products that cater to each market’s distinct needs and different customer preferences. In the future, we aim to increase insurance penetration and literacy across the region, including Vietnam and Thailand. We envision PasarPolis to be a motor of the insurtech industry in Southeast Asia, answering the insurance gap challenge in this region.
On geographical expansion, are you looking into other markets besides the existing ones ? (Besides Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam)
While we are currently focusing on markets where we already have a presence – Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam – we remain open to exploring other potential regions that align with our strategic goals and offer favorable market conditions.
When does the company need to raise funds? Would you be able to share PasarPolis’ current valuation?
At present, our focus is on using the funding we have raised to maximize our impact and increase financial inclusion in Indonesia, particularly in remote and underprivileged areas. While we appreciate the interest in our current valuation, our primary focus remains the positive impact and contribution our presence brings to the industry and society.
Would you be able to disclose Pasarpolis’ revenue growth or other latest financial numbers?
While I’m unable to disclose specific numbers, I can share that we have seen a 3x YoY GWP Growth between 2022 and 2021. To date, PasarPolis has raised over $59 million and is the first insurtech backed by three Indonesian Unicorns, including Gojek, Tokopedia, and Traveloka.
What are the opportunities and potential PasarPolis sees in Southeast Asia?
a) is there any preferred markets among the countries in the region?
b) is there any preferred segment(s)?
In line with our previous responses, we see enormous opportunities in the Southeast Asian market. We aim to increase insurance penetration and literacy in these regions and help democratize access to insurance products.
Insurance industry is a highly-regulated industry in most countries. Are there any regulatory hurdles PasarPolis encountered and how does PasarPolis overcome these hurdles (if there is any)?
As an insurtech company, we place great importance on regulatory compliance. We handle any hurdles that come our way by employing a proactive and diligent approach. In Indonesia, regulators have been adapting their regulations to the new digital trend, which has enabled more efficient processes such as digital signature authorization and real-time digital policy issuance.
What are the challenges PasarPolis faces expanding in the region? How does PasarPolis address these challenges?
Expansion in the region certainly presents its unique challenges. Despite serving millions of customers monthly, the insurance penetration in Indonesia is notably low. However, we see this as a massive opportunity for growth. With digital consumption on the rise, we are making concerted efforts to increase awareness about the importance of insurance via technology.
Specifically, we’re focusing on overcoming three primary challenges: lack of access, the complexity of the process from registration to claim, and the high cost of premiums. We are employing innovative digital solutions to enhance access, simplify processes, and make insurance more affordable for all.
Some say the insurance industry is the least tech-disrupted industry. What’s your view on this?
While the insurance industry might have been slower to embrace technological advancements in the past, it’s currently undergoing a significant digital transformation. This shift is paving the way for increased efficiency, improved customer experiences, and innovative business models.
The industry is not only adapting to the digital landscape but is also leveraging technology to amplify its offerings and meet evolving customer expectations. At PasarPolis, we are at the forefront of this exciting insurtech revolution, leading the charge in innovation and disruption.