PhonePe gets IRDAI nod to distribute insurance products from multiple players

Fintech major PhonePe said on Monday it has received an insurance broking license from the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI), which will enable it to sell insurance products from all insurance companies in India.

Earlier, the startup had a limited insurance 'corporate agent' license, which allowed PhonePe to partner with only three insurance companies, per category. With the general broking license, it will be able to offer more insurance products to its users.

The general broking license will also help PhonePe to offer personalised product recommendations to its 300 million-plus users.

"This license is a big milestone in our insurance journey...This move will lead us closer to our goal of becoming a one-stop destination for all the insurance needs of our customers," said Gunjan Ghai, Vice President and Head of Insurance at PhonePe, in a press release.

PhonePe launched its insurance services in January 2020, offering general insurance, term insurance, and health insurance to its users.

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"The overwhelming response to its early insurance product launches from millions of customers encouraged the company to apply for an insurance broking license," read the startup's press release.

Last year, One97 Communications Ltd (OCL), which owns payments and financial services platform Paytm, secured its insurance broking license from the IRDAI, enabling it to offer insurance products across categories such as health, life, and auto. The Delhi-based startup had said it would tie up with 20 leading insurance firms in India, and further integrate with 30 more.

PhonePe, which Flipkart divested last year, said last week that it is processing nearly 1.5 billion transactions per month, and that 80 percent of its users are from Tier-II, III regions and beyond.

It added its subsidiary PhonePe Account Aggregator Pvt Ltd, got in-principle approval from the Reserve bank of India (RBI) to operate as an account aggregator (AA).