We Empower Remote India With Tech-Driven Advisors: Dhirendra Mahyavanshi, Turtlemint

In an exclusive interview, Dhirendra Mahyavanshi, the Co-Founder and CEO of Turtlemint, discusses the journey of Turtlemint in revolutionising the insurance industry in India. With a mission to enhance insurance penetration and empower individuals, Turtlemint has transformed the insurance ecosystem. Mahyavanshi elaborates on the challenges faced and strategies employed, highlighting how Turtlemint has made insurance a lucrative career option for the youth. Excerpts:

Turtlemint has empowered over 3.2 lakh+ advisors. Could you walk us through the journey and the key factors that contributed to it?

We embarked on an entrepreneurial journey with a mission to revolutionise the insurance industry in India. For a developing country like India, achieving universal insurance becomes integral to ensuring economic support at a micro level. Inarguably, India has made great strides in improving insurance penetration from 2.71 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in 2001 to approximately 4.2 per cent of GDP today. However, there is a large scope as we try to achieve the global average of 8 per cent. Clearly, the opportunity to improve insurance penetration in India is both significant as well as essential. The current protection gap is a major challenge that needs to be addressed by all of us in the insurance ecosystem to ensure that individuals have adequate financial protection in the face of unexpected events. Since inception, we focused on pioneering the PoSP landscape in the country and have elevated the entire insurance ecosystem by empowering the most essential player, i.e., the insurance advisor. In India, 90 per cent of the products are sold by advisors. Hence, in order to improve penetration levels in the country it is imperative to build a robust ecosystem for the advisors.

Thus, we introduced Turtlemint as a digital platform to assist financial advisors’ in understanding their customers' needs and offering suitable insurance solutions. Our digital solutions enable advisors to quickly match each customer with a tailored suite of products, eliminating the cumbersome paperwork. Our primary objective was to bridge the gap between insurance providers and customers, making the insurance buying process transparent and accessiblethrough their friendly advisor.

What were the major challenges Turtlemint faced during this journey, and what strategies did you employ to overcome them?

Traditionally, insurance sales have not been a popular career choice among youngsters due to a lack of awareness, income uncertainty, and perceived low social status. We believe that our real challenge lied in making insurance a lucrative and attractive business opportunity for the next generation. In fact, this goal is aligned with our mission of creating one million financial advisors and empowering individuals to take charge of their financial futures. Through our innovative app, mentorship programmes, digital lead generation tools and other initiatives, we are working to change the perception of insurance as a traditional industry and show young people that there is great potential for success and impact in this field. With the increasing penetration of mobile phones and data in India, we have a unique opportunity to make insurance accessible and attractive to young people who want to be financial micro-entrepreneurs.

In a rapidly evolving insurance landscape in India, how has Turtlemint contributed to reshaping the insurance ecosystem?

The insurance industry in India has witnessed significant growth and is projected to become the sixth largest market by 2032, according to Swiss Re. The increasing awareness among individuals and businesses regarding the importance of insurance has contributed to this expansion. The emergence of technology-driven platforms has made insurance products more convenient and affordable for consumers, further fuelling the sector's growth. IRDAI is also working on three-pronged approach - availability, accessibility and affordability - to ensure 'Insurance for All by 2047'.

Turtlemint has been the pioneer in driving business even in the remote locations of India by empowering insurance advisors (PoSP) with technology. By embracing emerging technologies, we strive to enhance efficiency and improve the insurance buying and selling process. Thus, by empowering insurance advisors with the right set of digital tools, we are aiming to create 1 million financial advisors and holistically drive insurance penetration in the country. Our efforts at Turtlemint have led to approximately 4 million customers and the sale of over 7 million policies, demonstrating our impact in helping individuals safeguard their financial well-being through insurance.

The insurance industry often faces unique challenges during events like monsoons and calamities. How has Turtlemint adapted to provide solutions and support during such critical times?

As climate change continues to disrupt weather patterns and intensify monsoon rains, it is essential to be prepared for the potential consequences. By securing health and motor insurance, one can protect their assets from the financial burdens associated with such emergencies. During such critical times, claims settlement can be challenging. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (IRDAI) requires insurance companies to settle claims within 30 days of receiving all the necessary documents from the customers. However, some claims may take longer than usual to process on account of investigations required to ensure that correct settlement is done. 

Turtlemint is committed towards increasing the chances of a hassle-free and successful claim-settlement during monsoon season. Our team of experts provides fast and reliable insurance claim support to all those affected in the floods and have settled various claims till now. When Cyclone Biparjoy was affecting various parts of India, we also extended a helping hand to those impacted by launching a special priority helpline number dedicated to insurance claim support.

Does Turtlemint have any initiatives related to environmental sustainability or social responsibility?

At Turtlemint, we are on a mission to transform the perception of insurance, by creating a thriving community of digital financial entrepreneurs across India who will help us take insurance to every household in the country. 

Our unique approach not only improves insurance penetration but also nurtures the entrepreneurial spirit in individuals, creating a new generation of digital first advisors in previously untapped geographies. We have already on-boarded over 3 lakh micro-entrepreneurs, many of whom are making a difference in tier-2, tier-3 cities, and even beyond, reaching grassroots communities. More than 70 per cent of the citizens living in rural areas remain untapped by major players in the insurance market. And this is a gap we want to fill through our advisors. In fact more than 50 per cent of our active advisors are present beyond the metros in India. 

We also recognise the immense potential of rural communities and their unique insurance needs. That's why we're diligently working on crafting innovative 'byte-sachet' insurance solutions, offering affordable, flexible coverage tailored to their specific requirements. Our goal is to make insurance accessible to every corner of the nation and empower individuals to safeguard their future confidently.

Turtlemint has formed partnerships with various insurance companies and banks. How do these collaborations benefit both Turtlemint and the insurers, and how do they enhance the overall customer experience?

Bancassurance landscape has been evolving over time and with the new set of challenges, newer solutions are required for banks to enhance their distribution processes. Our enterprise suite of products - Turtlefin provides disruptive solutions by digitising and simplifying the entire insurance distribution value chain for enterprises and ensures that Turtlefin’s cutting-edge technology acts as a bridge between the insurer and the bank. Turtlefin has partnered with 25+ leading banks and insurance brokers in India and the Middle East and provides SaaS platform modules, enabling the distribution teams to access relevant information and seamlessly customise proposals for their clients, reducing proposal creation time by more than 50 per cent and increase the sales efficiency by 30 per cent. Our partners can streamline the quote creation and issuance process, enhance customer engagement and offer customised insurance products that cater to unique consumer needs. We prioritise value enhancement by leveraging AI, ML, and data analytics.