Partnerships between banks and fintech companies are paving the way for the future of financial services. A partnership with a bank gives FinTech companies a reliable clientele, a seal of approval, access to capital, and expertise. On the other side of the tunnel, banks would likewise profit from integrating new technologies to provide a smooth digital client experience.
The Dubai-based Policybazaar.ae — established in 2018 — is revolutionizing the financial sector with its innovative, hassle-free, and flexible services. Under the leadership of Neeraj Gupta (CEO), the fintech company has established a strong footprint and won the awards and recognition such as Best Insurtech Startup of the year by Business Tabloid (2021), Best Brands of UAE by Economic Times (2021), and InsurTech Start-Up of the Year – UAE by the Global Insurance and Risk Management Awards 2021 at Wealth & Finance International.
The Notion Behind Establishment Of Policybazaar.ae
In 2008, Yashish Dahiya and Alok Bansal created Policybazaar. Policybazaar, Paisabazaar, and Policybazaar.ae are all owned by PB Fintech (the parent company), led by Yashish as Chairman And Chief Executive Officer. Alok serves as the Executive Vice Chairman of PB Fintech, which controls Policybazaar and Paisabazaar.
Yashish was the MD of ebookers.com, a pan-European online travel distribution company, before starting his entrepreneurial journey. He also worked with Bain & Co. as a management consultant at their London office for a few years. He graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Engineering from IIT Delhi. Later he completed a Post Graduate Diploma in Management from IIM Ahmedabad and an MBA from INSEAD. Before joining Policybazaar, Alok worked in various leadership roles with Mahindra Group, iGate Global Solutions, and GE.
After a decade-long journey for the Policybazaar Group, Yashish and Alok chose Dubai as the base for their operations in the UAE. The decision to target the UAE market was made because 27 % of the UAE’s total population of nearly 10 million people is comprised of Indian ex-pats. By launching its new venture, Policybazaar.ae, in March 2018, Policybazaar entered the UAE market. At that time, Neeraj Gupta was promoted to CEO of Policybazaar.ae from his previous position as group leader of the motor insurance business for the flagship brand, Policybazaar.com.
Neeraj worked as a sales consultant for Infosys and Wipro Technologies before joining Policybazaar. He pursued an MBA at NMIMS after earning his B.Tech. During the beta phase, the versatile leader and his team at Policybazaar.ae were able to sell more than 2,000 policies and underwrite premiums totaling INR 6 crore (AED 3 million) thanks to their collaboration with more than 10 insurance partners in the region. Neeraj now envisions influencing public perceptions of finances and social security in the UAE and promoting digital channels as the consumers’ preferred means of managing their personal finances. Additionally, through Policybazaar.ae, he seeks to rejuvenate the Fin-tech ecosystem in the state by offering a robust alternative to traditional methodologies.
Offering End-To-End Insurance Solutions
Policybazaar.ae provides an unbiased comparison of insurance products (life, health, motor, home, and contents insurance) together with round-the-clock customer service. Its clients receive support at every stage of the insurance process, from selecting the best policy to filing paperwork, claim assistance, and renewal. “It is the ingenuity of the concept behind Policybazaar.ae that sets it apart from its competitors and makes it stick with customers and partners alike,” Neeraj proudly asserts.
He and his team take great pride in offering their customers end-to-end insurance solutions in simple, understandable formats. They strive for customer centricity by providing personalized insurance guidance. They also consider it their responsibility to assist insurance buyers and financial product purchasers in understanding all of their options and have the complete knowledge to evaluate each of them safely.
The ability of Policybazaar.ae to adapt searches according to consumer demands ensures that they receive results that are perfectly suited to them. Neeraj says, “The brand works unrelentingly to create efficient solutions to address the dearth of customized life insurance products to help customers get adequate financial protection against Death, Disease, and Disability. PolicyBazaar.ae’s offerings are well-timed with the rapidly increasing demand for digital solutions in the insurance and financial lending sector.”
Furthermore, Neeraj and his team strive to introduce product innovation and believe delivering customer needs is essential. Policybazaar.ae CEO shares, “We work closely with them to provide personalized insurance services to our customers. We have rebuffed the old view of insurance as a one-size-fits-all product. So, we help our insurance partners with data-based insights into each customer’s unique needs.” This helps them more effectively target customers and produce personalized products. And the buyers coming to their platform also get to choose from a wide range of options.
Neeraj states, “Policybazaar.ae had set out its operations in 2018 to be the market leaders in UAE in the financial aggregation space, and we are on that path. In a couple of months, we aim to be the leading financial services provider in the UAE.”
Fin-Tech: Changing The Future Of Money
The financial services sector is changing as a result of fintech. With cashless businesses springing up nearly everywhere, the idea of money itself has already undergone a complete transformation that makes it completely unrecognizable. And one day, money will be completely useless. In the UAE, high mobile penetration rates and increasing competition from fintech companies offer solutions to specialized financial areas such as digital payments, loans, insurance, and wealth management. “We are ourselves working with such change leaders who are bringing in the experience of neo-banking to the UAE,” says Neeraj. These digital-only banking platforms are strengthening the mobile banking platforms, rationalizing branch-based services, and refocusing staff on value-added services rather than repetitive and less-profitable branch operations.
During the pandemic, non-traditional financial services companies, insurance aggregators, etc., also increased their operations throughout the GCC and sped up the transition to online services. Fintech companies, neobanks, and financial apps should collaborate with other financial institutions in order to accomplish shared objectives. In order for UAE to actively establish a fintech ecosystem, the legal framework must also change to make collaboration possible.
Initial Challenges Faced By CEO
Payments and lending are the two largest sectors in the UAE, which are home to a third of all fintech businesses in the Middle East. The main difficulty was dealing with the escalating rivalry from global businesses moving into the 
Middle East to take advantage of the sizable population there. Neeraj states that the lack of mobile and tech expertise/talent to offer an amazing customer experience using technologies was a little roadblock during the initial phase of their journey.
Focusing On Hassle-Free, Convenient Solutions
A digital-first financial services aggregator, Policybazaar.ae, aims to provide its customers with cutting-edge solutions. Its entire end-to-end insurance purchase process, which is currently available online with top insurance firms (around 35+), is an illustration of this.
Policybazaar.ae and Al Etihad Credit Bureau recently joined forces to implement real-time eligibility checks for credit card applications based on the AECB Credit Score and banks’ approval criteria. The AECB Score Pull product facilitates both ends of the funnel by assisting the consumer in maintaining a record of their credit history and assisting banks in gaining access to a larger pool of credit-worthy customers.
Additionally, Neeraj and his team are developing and offering industry-first products with insurers. For instance, Policybazaar.ae and the Islamic Arab Insurance Company (SALAMA) partnered last week to launch an online comprehensive insurance plan for non-GCC specification cars. With the introduction of this unique product, consumers can easily and conveniently insure and re-insure their luxury cars with a wide range of benefits.
Leveraging AL and ML Technology
According to Neeraj, opportunities are being created for enterprises, the economy, and society due to the acceleration of AI and ML research. These three factors are significant for financial services. Automation, machine learning, and artificial intelligence allow the versatile leader and his team to learn more about their clients and provide them with tailored product recommendations, identify fraudulent acts, help them with quick claim settlement, and more. “We have seen the transition in the way we can approach and service each customer. Also, AI and automation can potentially increase productivity growth manifold,” states Neeraj.
Advice by CEO Neeraj
As an experienced individual and CEO of Policybazaar.ae, Neeraj advises the budding entrepreneurs, “Just keep on doing the right thing”.
