Varun Dua: Success Story Of Acko Insurance

Varun Dua – Biography

• Varun Dua- Founder and CEO of ACKO General Insurance Company is India’s first Digital Insurance Company. Well there are so many insurance companies in India but what made ACKO stand out and how Varun Dua managed to build up successful brand in such a short period of time, Let us understand the success journey in detail.

Varun Dua – Early Life and Education

• Varun Dua was born on 25^th February 1981. He was born in Delhi but currently he is staying in Mumbai. His father’s name is Chander Mohan Dua. Varun Dua has more than ten years of experience in Insurance sector. He was in charge of marketing analytical for direct business accession and technology for effective customer service.
• He completed his bachelor’s degree from University of Mumbai and pursued a Master’s Degree at MICA, Ahmedabad which is a prestigious business school in India. Varun’s academic excellence laid the groundwork for his future.
• He worked as a trainee at Leo Burnett Advertising for less than a year after graduating. He subsequently went on to work for TATA AIG Life Insurance and Franklin Templeton Investments as a marketing manager.
• Varun founded ACKO Insurance as he had the complete knowledge about the insurance products and digital medium was the best option for him as there was hassle free paperwork with best results. His previous records were very good so he managed to raise $ 30 million from investors for the ACKO project.

Varun Dua Net Worth and Investments

Varun Dua with the help of his knowledge raised $30 million for his Acko Insurance Company. Currently Acko Insurance company net worth is estimated around $ 1 Billion. Varun Dua has invested in 9 rounds. Their most recent investment was in Tohands (Angel Round) on Mar 01, 2024

• Some notable companies in their investment portfolio include Dezerv, Kuvera and BNC
• Their investments are primarily in Retail, Consumer and 10 more sectors

Varun Dua Family

Varun Dua Father’s name is Chander Mohan Dua. His mother’s name is Rashmi Dua. His wife name is Sapna Rana.

 Varun Dua – Acko

• ACKO insurance was started with the motto –“Insurance made easy: Zero Commission. Zero Paperwork”. To make the concept eye catching the company started the campaign with the phrase “Full Paisa Wasool”.
• Acko Insurance provides complete value and has removed retail costs which are the factors that the competitors relied on. ACKO’s digital only approach and variety of customer friendly programs have helped ACKO to get over 4.5 crore customers.
• Acko provides excellent customer service and thus they are able to gain clients confidence. ACKO is a Mumbai based unicorn. ACKO Provides General Insurance as well as Life Insurance.

Varun Dua – Challenges Faced

ACKO Faced a basic challenge in his insurance journey that was trust. Because there are many insurance companies and false claims and premium settlement failures was the biggest drawback and ACKO faced lack of trust in the initial stage. And that’s why Varun tried his level best to provide all comfort to his customers to make insurance a simple and easy process.

Varun Dua Personal and Professional Achievements

• Through its promising business outline and revenue streams, Acko has been able to bag an aggregate funding of $458 million over 6 consecutive rounds of funding.
• The latest round of funding valued at $255 million was led by General Atlantic and Multiples Alternate Asset Management Private Limited and resulted in the start-up being valued at a whopping $1.1 billion thereby acclaiming the status of a unicorn.
• Since its inception in 2018, the digital insurance app has proclaimed numerous achievements.  In June 2019, the start-up bagged the ‘Golden Peacock Innovative Product Award’ for its contextual micro insurance product.
• Moreover, the company was felicitated with the ‘Most Innovative Insurer Category in Non-Life Segment’ at the FICCI Insurance Industry Awards 2020. The most recent accomplishment of the insurtech start-up includes the award of ‘Best Insutech Company’ at the BW Festival of Fintech received in February 2021.
• Ever since the company laid down its foundation stones, it has observed an upward trajectory of growth and revenue. Starting from the year 2019 when the company administered a premium of Rs. 41.56 crores to becoming a unicorn at a valuation of $1.1 billion post a funding round, the company has exhibited its strong presence in the market.
• The insurance start-up has experienced a 120% growth in sales of insurance policies for automobiles in FY 22 along with a 3.5 time growth in its consumer base since previous year.
• The website currently observes customer traffic of 4 million which is a 161% increase since the last year. Furthermore, the platform has also collaborated with prominent industry players like Urban Company, Ola, Amazon, Bajaj Finance and more to diversify its portfolio.
• While the start-up has come a long way since inception, it is yet far away from reaching its mission and objective.
• Looking ahead, the company intends to scale up its product offerings in the future. Moreover, the company would also consider foraying into the health insurance domain as well as add more employees to its pre-existing team.

Varun Dua – Investments besides Acko

As an angel investor, Varun Dua invests personal money into promising companies, typically in exchange for equity. Varun Dua has made numerous investments in companies like ByBuy, Vaaree, and Dezerv within the Business/Productivity Software, Specialty Retail, and Financial Services industries. Varun Dua’s latest investment was on 01-Mar-2024 in ByBuy, a company within the Business/Productivity Software industry.

Varun Dua – Shark Tank India

Varun Dua joined the panel of Shark Tank India. He is hosting the show along with other sharks . Varun Dua presence brings financial resources but also invaluable entrepreneurial experience and insights to the show. By mentoring and investing in aspiring entrepreneurs Varun Dua helps to create more jobs, and contribute to the economic growth.  Through this show he is shaping the future of Indian Start-ups.

Conclusion

Thus Varun Dua being a middle class person born in Mumbai , dreamt to bring in change in the existing insurance business just by his innovative thoughts.  He faced lots of challenges for achieving his goal but he was determined and persistent to overcome all the difficulties. He is a true example of a person who saw a gap in the existing insurance industry and took opportunity and changed it in to a successful business with his entrepreneurial skills.