InsurTech startup Vital has raised $3 million in a pre-series A round led by venture capital company BLinC Invest. Venture Catalyst, Survam Partners and several other angel investors also participated in this round, said the company.
The fund raised by the company will be used for product innovation, expansion, market discovery and is likely to help the startup scale and transform the way health insurance is delivered in India.
“Vital is leveraging world-class technology and data science to bring transparency in this fragmented space and empowering the customers. It is an innovative approach with tremendous disruptive potential and makes us confident in our bet on the startup,” said Apoorv Ranjan Sharma, co-founder and president, Venture Catalysts, adding that“he funds will significantly help Vital scale and transform the way health insurance is perceived in India.
Set up in 2020 by former co-founder of Truly Madly Rahul Kumar and head of product at Apollo Munch Health Insurance, Jayan Mathews, the startup focus on providing personalized health insurance solutions.
“Unlike traditional health insurance, which is one size fits all with expensive annual premium and numerous terms & conditions, we at Vital are leveraging technology and data science to build a more personalized experience with an integrated health and wellness approach and smarter product structuring to make the premiums much more affordable,” said Rahul Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO, Vital.
As per the recent InsurTech report by BLinC Invest, the Indian insurance industry has a market size of $106 billion, and life insurance accounts for 75 per cent of that after private players entered the industry in 1999 and contributed to its exponential growth. While globally, the industry has been attracting a lot of interest from the investor community, the Indian market is also producing InsurTech startups that are successfully driving different parts of the value chain.
According to General Insurance Council data, almost Rs 24,000 crore worth of claims have been paid under medical insurance due to COVID-19-related hospitalization and associated expenses. During the pre-covid times, the number of people who purchased comprehensive insurance plans was approximately 32%, while now, after being hit by one of the biggest pandemics, this percentage has shot up to 55%.
