Probus offers climate insurance coverage in India, a country highly exposed to various climate risks. The firm targets the needs of the poorest and most vulnerable, where insurance penetration is currently very low. Probus has comprehensive, tailor-made product offering with more than 80% of its reach in the financially weakest cities of the country and rural areas. Probus significantly contributes to the introduction of affordable insurance coverage in India, leveraging a fully digitized underwriting and claims platform. The firm has a strong local footprint and distribution network, covering over 400 cities. Probus is expected to reach out to more than 3.5 million climate insurance beneficiaries by 2026.
“Probus’ business model is well suited to expand the growth of climate insurance products in Tier 2&3 cities[1] and rural areas, while contributing to job creation within its network of digital partners. We are impressed with how Probus has evolved from a traditional insurance player to a leading insurtech firm. It’s all the more impressive that they have boot-strapped this growth and we are excited to be the company’s first external investor. We believe this is a great opportunity to partner with a firm that has shown real dedication to expand insurance coverage for low and middle income segments of the population, especially those located outside of Tier 1 cities”, comments Mahesh Joshi, Head of Private Equity Investments – Asia at BlueOrchard.
IIF will be appointing members to the Probus Board of Directors and closely work with the company on a clearly defined value creation plan aimed at enhancing the governance framework, strengthening the firm’s technology infrastructure and driving new products. IIF will add value to the firm through a structured technical assistance program, including feasibility studies for entering new lines of business, as well as initiatives aimed at increasing insurance and natural disaster awareness amongst end customers and partners.
“We are delighted to be partnering with IIF and building our relationship with the world’s leading impact investor. We look forward to working with BlueOrchard’s team to bring world class innovations to the Indian market. This partnership will help us in realising our dream of increased insurance awareness and penetration across the segments of the population that usually have limited access to insurance and the protection it affords,” says Rakesh Goyal, Managing Director of Probus.
The investment in Probus aligns with the vision and principles of IIF and the InsuResilience Global Partnership (“the Partnership”), which was launched at the 2017 UN Climate Conference COP23 by Germany. The vision of the Partnership is to strengthen the resilience of developing countries to the effects of climate change and to protect the livelihoods of poor and vulnerable people against extreme weather events and natural disasters. The Partnership’s objective is to enable more timely and reliable post-disaster response and offer insurance solutions to reduce impacts and help poor and vulnerable people recover more quickly.
[1] Classification based on the system used by the central government of India for payment of house rent allowance. There are 9 Tier 1 cities each with population of 5m+ and 97 Tier 2 cities each with population of 100k+. Rest of the cities are categorized as Tier 3.
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About InsuResilience Investment Fund
Luxembourg-based InsuResilience Investment Fund has been set up by KfW, the German Development Bank, on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The overall objective of the InsuResilience Investment Fund is to contribute to the adaptation to climate change by improving access to and the use of insurance in developing countries. The specific objective of the fund is to reduce the vulnerability of low-income households and micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) to extreme weather events. The InsuResilience Investment Fund has been set up as a public-private-partnership and combines private debt and equity investments in two separately investible sub-funds as well as technical assistance and premium support. The fund aims at both financial return and social impact. For further information, please visit: www.insuresilienceinvestment.fund
About Probus
Probus Insurance Broker Private Limited is an online retail insurance broker, licensed by the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) to offer a full range of Life and General insurance products in India. Established in 2003, Probus is a renowned and well reputed player in the Indian market with presence across all the states and union territories in India and partnerships with most of the insurance companies in the country. For further information please visit: https://www.probusinsurance.com/about-us/
About BlueOrchard Finance Ltd
BlueOrchard is a leading global impact investment manager and member of the Schroders Group. As a pioneering impact investor, the firm is dedicated to generating lasting positive impact for communities and the environment, while aiming at providing attractive returns to investors. BlueOrchard was founded in 2001, by initiative of the UN, as the first commercial manager of microfinance debt investments worldwide. Today, the firm offers impact investment solutions across asset classes, connecting millions of entrepreneurs in emerging and frontier markets with investors with the aim to make impact investment solutions accessible to all and to advance the conscious use of capital. Being a professional investment manager and expert in innovative blended finance mandates, BlueOrchard has a sophisticated international investor base and is a trusted partner of leading global development finance institutions. To date, BlueOrchard has invested over USD 8bn across more than 90 countries. Over 223 million poor and vulnerable people in emerging and frontier markets received access to financial and related services with the support of BlueOrchard as of June 2021. For additional information, please visit: www.blueorchard.com.
For further information, please contact:
Tahmina Theis
+41 44 441 55 50
tahmina.theis@blueorchard.com
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