Fintech unicorn Cred is now doubling down on diversifying its financial services portfolio. This time, it is making a foray into the insurance sector – motor insurance, to be precise. The startup intends to distribute motor insurance products through its vehicle management platform, Cred Garage.
Cred Garage was first launched last year, in September, and is primarily designed to aid customers in vehicle management. With Cred Garage, users will be able to keep track of various vehicle-related expenses, monitor pending traffic violations, and manage critical renewal dates for insurance and pollution certificates. Roadside assistance is also offered, ensuring that users gain some semblance of peace of mind during vehicle breakdowns, and brings vehicle management tools and insurance solutions in a single platform (making it convenient for use).
In this vein, the fintech startup – which entered the unicorn club three years ago following a Series D funding round – is now collaborating with three established insurance providers. These are Zurich Kotak General Insurance, Go Digit General Insurance, and ICICI Lombard, and Cred is joining forces with them in order to co-develop insurance products that reward users for maintaining high credit scores. This will be beneficial for Cred’s extensive user base, which currently includes nearly 7 million vehicles.
“Whether a first-time owner or a motorhead, anyone who owns cars knows that the delight of driving often gets overtaken by the anxiety of managing and maintaining. CRED garage is our solution to this challenge. CRED members can experience the pleasure of driving and the joy of car ownership on a single platform – customised for them. From cards to cars – CRED members can now manage, maintain and engage with all on the app,” Akshay Aedula, Cred’s head of product and growth, commented on the matter. There are incentives for users as well – Cred will be providing incentives to foster positive financial behaviour on their part. If you are a Cred user with a good credit score, then you will receive additional discounts on your insurance premiums.
For now, the vehicle management services offered through Garage are free, and Cred intends to ensure that the platform provides a steady stream of revenue. This will be earned through the commissions received from the insurance companies the unicorn teams up with, ensuring that the Bengaluru-headquartered fintech startup can capitalize on its existing user base as well. Currently, Cred provides a reward-based credit card payments app and short-term credit lines, alongside support for Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions and personal loans.
The six-year-old startup, founded by Kunal Shah, has now captured a significant piece of the Indian financial services ecosystem. Today, it boasts around 13 million monthly active users, of which 11 million are actively engaged in transactions, as well as a total revenue of ₹2,473 crore for FY24, which marks an increase of 66% from the corresponding quarter in the previous year. Its operating loss for the same period decreased by 41% to amount to ₹609 crore, while its net loss increased by 22% to ₹1,644 crore.
