Amazon, Acko announce stronger insurance ties
Amazon’s payment arm in India, Amazon Pay, has partnered with Acko to offer car and motorcycle insurance. Customers can get a quote and pay using Amazon Pay.
“Our vision is to make Amazon Pay the most trusted, convenient, and rewarding way to pay for our customers. Delighted by this experience, there has been a growing demand for more services. In line with this need, we are excited to launch an auto insurance product that is affordable, convenient, and provides a seamless claims experience.” – Vikas Bansal, director and head of financial services Amazon Pay India.
The news comes at no surprise given the relationship between Acko and Amazon:
- 2016. Founded by Varun Dua.
- 2017. Raised $30 million in a Seed round.
- 2018. Raised $12 million, announced Amazon as a backer, and launched its car insurance product. It also started offering coverage at low prices exclusively for Amazon users and allowed people to purchase insurance using Amazon Pay.
- 2019. Raised a total of $101 million across two rounds of funding. Amazon India led its Series C round.
Now, Acko is a team of over 460 people. It has raised a total of $143 million and generally speaking, focuses on car and two-wheeler/bike insurance. Yet it also offers mobile protection exclusively on Amazon. Finally, it has distribution arrangements with HDB Financial Services, DriveU, Ola and of course, Amazon.
Bottom Line: this move is simply an evolution of prior, less integrated moves.
