Global growth investor Warburg Pincus has committed $350m to set up Southeast Asian digital insurance platform Oona.
The firm is partnering with seasoned executive Abhishek Bhatia to set up the business. The $350m investment represents the largest funding round of its type in the region.
Oona will comprise two of Warburg Pincus’ existing insurance assets, PT Asuransi Bina Dana Arta Tbk in Indonesia and Mapfre Insular Insurance Corporation in the Philippines.
According to Warburg, both of these assets have a long-standing track record and reputation in their respective markets for providing quality products and superior customer service.
They will also bring Oona an initial product portfolio, strong distribution relationships, a robust infrastructure, and an immediate foothold in the region upon which to build its business. The companies will be rebranded as Oona in due course.
Oona plans to deploy a unique value creation strategy to scale up into Southeast Asia’s leading digital general insurance platform with operations across multiple major markets in the region.
With the acquisition of PT Asuransi Bina Dana Arta and Mapfre Insular Insurance Corporation, Oona already carries a wide range of products.
These include motor, property, and group health insurance. Oona also plans to introduce new products such as travel, health as well as products that are emerging on the back of increasing adoption of internet, e-commerce, and digital payments.
Warburg said that Oona will “invest meaningfully” to build a new tech stack with a focus on leveraging market leading technology to significantly enhance customer experience. As such, the company is positioning itself to be the number one choice for partners and customers alike based on its customer service, technology, and strong brand.
Abhishek Bhatia, Group CEO of Oona, said, “General insurance is a significantly underpenetrated industry in the region and a sector that’s ripe for digital disruption. Legacy systems and mindset amongst incumbents provide a real opportunity to create a truly customer-focused organisation with a strong tech and brand spine. I am very excited to partner with Warburg Pincus to build Oona into a truly world-class company.”
Funding for InsurTechs remains strong. Olino, a French InsurTech startup formerly known as Riskee, recently raised €2.2m to develop its embedded insurance product for European SMEs.
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