Insurance companies are hated. Decades of misselling has created distrust. Indian overall insurance penetration is ~2%, far lower than US/UK at 11%. Digit was the 27th entrant. The founder was older than his digital counterparts. Digit seemed an old warhorse in a painful market, not a fintech dark horse.

But reading carefully reveals a $3Bn rocketship simplifying Insurance.

Digit’s founder was unconventional. Spending three decades in insurance, he itched to startup. Nudged by his mother, he took the leap. As a solo, 50-year-old, insurance tech founder, he didn’t fit the founder stereotype.

He wanted to break not only this stereotype, but also insurance’s.

Insurance was a necessary evil. A $200Bn+ market, it remained dominated by behemoths like LIC. Long documents, push products, it remained complex. Digit wanted to simplify insurance, with a tech led five star service.

It started by raising a monster $50M seed round.

Digit drove into auto first. Focusing on non-life, it started slowly. In 2017, it ramped up. By 2018, it clocked 104Cr in gross premiums. It reduced time to settle claims to less than 20 days. The process was hassle free, mobile first. Customer love skyrocketed, hitting 5-star reviews

By 2019, it exploded to 1,204 Cr of premiums, 10x of 2018.

As Digit entered 2020, it had set strong tech foundations. As the pandemic hit, demand for insurance exploded. Digit moved into health. It signed Virat Kohli. It hit an NPS of 76. The insurance industry grew 5%, Digit grew 44%.

By 2021, it had reached 3,250 Cr of premiums, while almost breaking even.

Other legacy players were now copying Digit. It became India’s first unicorn in 2021. It sold 5.5M policies. Digit expanded to 4 categories, motor, car, health and employee. Its renewal rates were 75%+. 97% of its auto claims were settled.

By July 21, it raised $200M at a $3.5Bn valuation, becoming India’s 3rd largest fintech. From a push product, Digit had made insurance a lovable, pull product.