Future Group eyes larger fintech play by foraying into micro-insurance

Kishore Biyani-led Future Group for last one year has been working on to bring a host of services such as groceries delivery, gym membership, and spa treatment, offering credit and entertainment content through partnership.

Now, it's adding one more to the list of services- micro-insurance.

Future Group sees a huge potential market in insurance products such as accident, illness, death in the family, natural disasters. The group wants to leverage existing customers' data to drive adoption.

The company has been building a front-end distribution firm for this, said Vivek Biyani, head of Future Group digital business initiatives.

The firm will also distribute Future Generali (FG) products. FG is a joint venture between Future Group and Italian insurance giant Generali Group.

Future Group plans to use its consumers' data to make hyper-personalised sales. Currently, the company claims to have a user base of 10 million which it wants to cash on.

According to the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority (IRDA) micro-insurance Regulations, microinsurance is a life insurance policy with a sum assured of Rs 50,000 or less.

At present, India micro-insurance market accounts for over 60 percent of Asia’s market.

This is in addition to the company's consumer-lending business, which Future Group plans to start soon. Last year in January, Future Group had launched a digital wallet Future Pay.

Future Group could set up a separate entity for its fintech businesses including payments, lending, and micro-insurance, said an ET report.

Last month, Biyani-led firm has roped in US data-mining company Palantir Technologies to understand shoppers' buying, consumption, and frequency patterns to target them effectively.

In the last couple of years, Future Group has extended its network and made around seven acquisitions to put together a total retail space of 14.8 million sq ft with a presence in 340 cities.

The group also plans to open around 15,000 small stores in the next five years. Future Group has been trying to find space in digital space for a long time. In its first attempt, the company acquired Chaupatibazaar.com and branded it as Futurebazaar.

However, the group failed at e-commerce business miserably to then startups Flipkart, Amazon, and Snapdeal. Anyway, Biyani looks unfazed and feels the urge to ramp up the digital channel for a comprehensive omnichannel strategy.

The group also announced initiatives likeTatasthu Retail 3.0 strategy to cover hyperlocal commerce along with a string of cloud kitchens across the country.

Biyani's aspiration towards digital commerce and fintech seem exciting. It would be interesting to see how the group performs in executing these new businesses lines under the leadership of Vivek Biyani.