Ride sharing platform, Ola, has been enjoying steady growths in the Indian market. However, the fact that remains that cab hailing is a very competitive space. Even though Ola is currently zooming far ahead of Uber, the company is taking steps to ensure that they have solid USPs that make consumers choose them over Uber. One such step is Ola’s entry into the micro-insurance space. By letting consumers insure their lives for a nominal fee of Rs 1, the brand is now expanding its avenues into finance. We’re sure this is only the first step within this arena.
What ROIs can consumers expect with Ola’s micro-insurance?
As of now, Ola is offering accidental death insurance for cab rides within cities, as well as long distance ones. Consumers who pay Rs 1 can expect an ROI of Rs 5,00,000 for their city rides. On the other hand, they can also pay Rs 49 and expect an ROI of Rs 7,50,000 for outstation rides. As far as life insurance amounts go, this is not very high. But when you consider the super affordable premiums, these ROIs are very, very good. According to the brand’s reports, 2 Crore users opt to pay the premium each month. That’s a really good source of revenue for the brand!
Furthermore, Ola is also offering covers for accidental medical expenses, hospitalization and lost baggage too. This helps it tie in the travel insurance segment quite neatly into its offerings.
In a country where more than 1,50,000 people die in car crashes annually, this offering by Ola makes a lot of sense. It not only adds to their revenue, but also adds value to the customer. The low premium rates ensure that the average customer uses the option to insure their lives without thinking twice.
Image : financialexpress
Will Ola expand into more financial products?
Ola has applied for a Non-banking Financial Company (NBFC) license. This can mean that they are planning to offer more financial products. With the brand earning 2 Crore INR additionally every month thanks to their micro-insurance, they will probably start offering other financial products too.
The company already has Ola Money, which is accepted at most leading food chains like Dominos. They also have another offering called Ola Postpaid, in which consumers can may monthly Ola bills, instead of paying after each ride. So, to be fair, this foray into the financial sector is not exactly new for them. Considering the steps that they have already taken, this seems like a very organic space for them to grow into.
While there is no clarity on whether the brand wants to expand into the loans and credit cards space too, with the NBFC license, they will be able to do so if they desire. Recently, other brands like Flipkart, Amazon, and Xiaomi have also applied for the NBFC license to get into the financial space. They have not make any offerings yet. This may just spell bad news for many FinTech startups that do not necessarily have access to the types of consumer data that these brands do.
