Private equity firm Warburg Pincus is set to make a $350m investment to set up a digital general insurance entity in South-East Asia, Reuters reported.
The US-based firm has partnered with Abhishek Bhatia to set up the entity, called Oona Insurance.
Oona’s group CEO Bhatia has served as the CEO of FWD Singapore and group chief officer of FWD Group’s new business models unit.
Oona comprises Indonesian general insurance firms Asuransi Bina Dana Arta and Mapfre Insular Insurance, which is based in the Philippines.
With the two insurers set to be rebranded as Oona, the digital insurer gains an immediate foothold in the region to build business and scale operation, Warburg Pincus said.
Initially, Oona’s products portfolio has auto insurance, property and group health insurance offerings.
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By GlobalDataWarburg Pincus managing director Saurabh Agarwal said: “With consistently rising incomes and accelerating digital adoption, we believe Oona is well positioned to capture the tremendous growth opportunity for digital insurance across Southeast Asia.”
Gradually, the firm plans to launch new offerings, such as travel, health and others to cater to the demand emerging from increasing adoption of the internet, e-commerce and digital payments in the region.
“General insurance is a significantly underpenetrated industry in the region and a sector that is ripe for digital disruption,” Bhatia was quoted by the news agency as saying.
“All the assets and operations will be consolidated under a coherent operating model and a common brand and tech stack, positioning us well to capture the rapidly growing opportunities for digital general insurance in the region,” he added.