Plum raises US$4.1 mn to expand into new markets and build new distribution channels

Plum has fundraised US$4.1 million, which was led by Sequoia Capital India’s Surge and Tanglin Venture Partners. Existing investors and Incubate Fund also participated in the round. Plum, the employee insurance startup, will use the funding to expand into new markets, build new distribution channels, hire top talent and further develop product and tech.

Going beyond traditional insurance coverage, the platform has partnered with best-in-class healthcare providers in dental care, fitness, diet and nutrition plans, yoga, virtual doctor consultations and mental healthcare. Plum had negotiated and forged new underwriting and fraud detection measures with a wide range of insurance companies. With this, it provides businesses and their employees with more flexibility, greater customization and high-quality health insurance experience.

Abhishek Poddar, Co-Founder of Plum, pointed out that one critical illness can make a family fall below the poverty line, so the platform has reimagined the traditional space of healthcare insurance to make it more affordable, simple and comprehensive. With COVID-19 further elevating the need for personal protection, Poddar said that companies with as few as five employees can set up high-quality health coverage in less than an hour at a discounted price previously available only to large corporates. “While the Indian government has several initiatives that offer free health coverage to India’s vulnerable populations, there is a sizable audience without adequate protection. The group insurance health market in India is projected to grow to US$13.4 billion by 2025 and will see the rise of innovative insurance products not available in advanced markets,” Poddar explained. “Plum hopes to provide 700 million people with employer-sponsored insurance and become the de facto health insurance platform for one million corporates in India.”

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Srikrishnan Ganesan, Founder of Rocketlane, highlighted that there was a stage when their company was considered too small for most insurance providers but Plum gave them access to good quality healthcare protection for their teams and families. “They have an exceptional product designed to suit the needs of small and mid-size organizations,” he said. “We were up and running within 24 hours, and their tailor-made offerings enabled us to save 40 per cent of what we would have spent on the more traditional, expensive health insurance products available in the market.”

Focusing on delivering a seamless customer experience, Plum provides companies with a dashboard to easily manage employees’ insurance and an employee app with 24/7 support for queries, claims and other related issues. The startup has seen 200 per cent growth quarter-on-quarter, securing US$1 million worth of insurance premiums within just the first three quarters of launch. The platform is currently used by more than 200 companies, including large organizations such as Twilio, Label Life, Classplus, Happay and Sunidhi Group.