"D2C MODEL ALLOWS US TO DELIVER BETTER PRICING, HIGHER TRANSPARENCY"

Animesh Das, MD & CEO of ACKO General Insurance, on transparency in claim settlement, growth drivers, and more

- BY TEENA JAIN KAUSHAL

ACKO GENERAL INSURANCE—backed by private equity firms such as General Atlantic, Multiples and others—is a digital-first player that generates 100% of its revenue by selling directly to customers. Unlike traditional insurers that rely on agents and banks for distribution, ACKO has built its own digital ecosystem. In an interview with Business Today, the 36-year-old MD & CEO, Animesh Das, shares how the company has disrupted the insurance market and what lies ahead. Edited excerpts:

How is ACKO different from traditional insurance players?

Traditionally, most insurance companies rely heavily on intermediaries—agents, brokers, car dealerships and banks—to distribute their products. Very few, if any, have taken the bold step of going direct-to-consumer.

This approach brings several benefits. First, we can customise products better and position them more clearly. Instead of creating a generic product and pushing it through all channels, we start with customer needs and work backward.

Before ACKO, we were a distribution platform. But we realised unless we controlled the entire value chain—from product design and distribution to claims—we couldn't offer a truly better experience. Insurance products were unnecessarily complex, claims processes were tedious, and trust was low.

How has adopting a D2C approach resulted in better product design?