Raise buys GreenLife Insurance Broking for India push

Raise Financial Services has acquired GreenLife Insurance Broking, giving it an entry into insurance distribution in India.

The transaction was structured as a cash-and-stock deal, with Raise expecting to invest USD $15 million in the business. GreenLife will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary, and its 25-member team will join the wider Raise group and move operations to Mumbai.

GreenLife Insurance Broking is registered with India's insurance regulator and has partnerships with major private and public sector insurers. The business serves customers across life and general insurance and has built an offline distribution network spanning more than 50 cities and towns in East and North-East India.

Founded by Subir Mukherjee in 2013, the company has focused on business-to-business insurance distribution and works with more than 100 enterprises on small business and corporate insurance needs. It also offers retail products including motor, health, life and travel insurance.

For Raise, the acquisition broadens a business more closely associated with capital markets and investing products. The group operates platforms including stock trading service Dhan, as well as Upsurge, Fuzz, Filter Coffee and Stratzy.

Raise plans to use GreenLife as the base for a direct-to-consumer insurance distribution platform focused on buying and managing insurance. The business is targeting a model that combines digital channels with advisory support for customers in metropolitan areas and Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities.

Market push

The move reflects a broader push by financial services groups in India to add insurance to wider consumer finance offerings. Insurance distribution remains fragmented, with online sellers, banks, agents, brokers and offline advisers all competing for market share as awareness of financial protection products grows.

The change of control and acquisition have received all required regulatory approvals, clearing Raise to begin integrating the brokerage into its wider operations while keeping the insurance arm independent as it develops its consumer platform.

Raise was founded in 2021 by Pravin Jadhav, Alok Pandey, Jay Prakash Gupta and Raunak Rathi. Its backers include Hornbill Capital, MUFG, BEENEXT and 3one4 Capital.

For the insurance unit, Raise will prioritise product development, technology infrastructure and customer experience. Its plan is to build a hybrid distribution model that reflects the continuing importance of advice-led sales in insurance, even as more consumers begin their search and purchase journey online.

A growing number of Indian consumers have entered formal investing channels in recent years, especially through digital stockbroking and wealth apps. Firms in that market have been looking for adjacent areas where they can cross-sell or build longer-term customer relationships. Insurance is one of the closest-watched segments because it sits alongside savings, investing and financial planning.

Raunak Rathi outlined Raise's view of the market.

"We believe adoption of insurance remains low in India because of lack of transparency, instances of mis-selling and complexities associated with overall understanding and importance of insurance. We are excited about building a consumer-first insurance business with GIBL that will be focussed on users from Metros, Tier 1 & Tier 2 cities and towns. GIBL's decade-long deep insurance expertise combined with Raise's product and technology driven approach gives us an opportunity to reimagine how India engages with Insurance," said Raunak Rathi, co-founder and director of Raise Financial Services.

Mukherjee said the business saw a close fit with Raise's approach.

"At the core GIBL has been focussed on bringing access to insurance across North East India via partnerships and offline distribution through use of technology. We see strong alignment with Raise's customer first approach and its strength in building and scaling businesses like Dhan & Upsurge with focus on product & technology. Now with Raise we have access to resources that will help us build and scale Insurance to the next level via both online & offline channels," said Mukherjee.