Nearly 14 months after its stock-market debut, insurance aggregator Policy bazaar (PB Fintech) can finally breathe a sigh of relief. After being stuck in the doldrums for a year, its share price has finally staged a turnaround, surging over 67% from an all-time low in November 2022. The market is rewarding it for climbing out of a hole. PB Fintech's lending marketplace Paisabazaar is on track to breaking even in the quarter ended March 2023, while revenue from policy renewals is seeing a steady rise. In the quarter ended December 2022, PB Fintech’s revenue rose by two-thirds year-on-year to Rs 610 crore (~$75 million)—its highest ever. PB Fintech's CEO Yashish Dahiya, in a conversation with Gaurav, the author of today's story, attributed the rise in revenues to the "flywheel effect"—where small wins compound, creating a new kind of accelerated momentum. In the last 15 years, Policybazaar managed to stave off competition and remained the largest in this space, kicking the virtuous effects of the flywheel in motion. And for it to continue to do so, it should ideally take relatively lesser effort to keep the company spinning from here on. But a wrench in the form of new competition is on the horizon. And it's not just any competition. Like government-backed UPI upended payments and BSE Star MF changed mutual-fund distribution, a state-backed online marketplace is in the works for the insurance sector. The Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India wants to launch a digital platform named 'Bima Sugam'—a one-stop shop for insurance sales, renewals, and claim settlements. Originally slated for a launch in January, the platform is backed by the Life Insurance Council, General Insurance Council, and the Insurance Broker Association of India. Now, what will it take for Policy bazaar to keep its flywheel turning and sustain its new-found mojo as a listed company?
