Aiming to Boost Insurance Penetration, PasarPolis Develop Agency Application

Startups insurtech PasarPolis released an agency application called PasarPolis Mitra as one of the steps to expand insurance penetration which is still minimal in Indonesia. Another mission is to help these partners earn additional income, considering that this application was released during a pandemic that hit many people's income.

In operating the application, PasarPolis in cooperation with the brokerage company PT Futura Finansial Prosperindo. This initiation was also released as one of the realizations after announcing Series B funding $54 million in September 2020 from LeapFrog Investments, SBI Investment, Alpha JWC Ventures, Intudo Ventures and Xiaomi.

In a limited interview held by the company today (3/12), Founder & CEO PasarPolis Cleosen Randing explain PasarPolis Partners are not insurance agents because they have different mechanisms, they only provide insurance product references to consumers. The insurance products sold are relatively simple with low premiums.

Moreover, these incorporated partners must go through a training process to ensure this does not happen misselling. The company also ensures consumer protection, such as ISO audits cyber security and data protection, as a protective measure.

"There is app special and necessary training before. After that, you can get an access code, the goal is for consumers to understand the insurance product they are buying, don't let it exist misselling, said Cleosen.

Since this application was released six months ago, it is claimed that it has now been able to attract 40 thousand partners. The partners' monthly income is said to have increased between two and three times. Cleosen said all of these figures, exceeded the company's expectations.

“This partner is from driver GoCar, GoLife, and professional agents who used to sell online offline now to online. "

The agency concept, he continued, is not new in the insurance world. Taking examples from other countries, China for example, there is Ping An which has 1 million agents who act as intermediaries for companies and end consumers. However, the concept used by Ping An did not immediately copy-paste when brought to Indonesia.

According to Cleosent, localization plays the most important role, especially since Indonesia is a unique country. "In fact, we want to change the paradigm, from Indonesia which we bring to other countries, not the other way around."

Market achievements and prospects insurtech

He also conveyed the company's positive achievements during the pandemic. Until August 2020 mentioned business growth PasarPolis grew more than 80 times. It is claimed that every month the company issues 70 million new policies. As for last year, the company has issued 650 million policies in the three countries where they operate, namely Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam.

Most of the products purchased are related to logistics, travel, and E-commerce. These three products reflect the main business lines of the three investors PasarPolis which made series A investments in 2018, namely Tokopedia, Gojek, and Traveloka. "There has also been a significant increase in terms of health and cars."

In addition, as many as 90% of insurance buyers in Indonesia disclosed that PasarPolis is first time buyers and 40% of them work in the informal sector. The company, together with insurance company partners, has formulated 80 insurance products that are actively sold through various platforms.

This positive growth was influenced by the rapid acceleration of digitalization in various sectors during the pandemic, which also affected the level of demand in the health sector. As a result, company prospects insurtech bright enough for next year.

He said the Covid-19 pandemic this year was the key to accelerating digitization. With a strong foundation of digitization, the next process will be even easier. Moreover, the insurance market in Indonesia is still very broad due to minimal penetration.

"Insurtech can grow positively despite the pandemic, we see digital adoption as an opportunity for insurtech. We are optimistic that in the future people will be more aware of protecting themselves. Our homework is how to democratize all levels with affordable insurance products,” he concluded.