Igloo embeds insurance inside telco app

Partnership with Telkomsel tackles trust, scale, and sustainability in microinsurance distribution.

Insurance distribution is shifting into everyday digital behavior, and Igloo is betting that telco apps can solve one of the industry’s hardest problems: trust. The insurtech has partnered with Telkomsel to embed microinsurance products directly into the MyTelkomsel app, offering coverage with premiums starting from IDR 200.

The move targets Indonesia’s mass-market consumers, many of whom remain underinsured despite high mobile penetration. According to Raunak Mehta, Co-founder and CEO of Igloo, credibility of the distribution partner is central to driving adoption. “Partnering with Telkomsel, which happens to be Indonesia's biggest telco, to a certain extent, solves the trust aspect of insurance,” he said.

Trust alone, however, does not guarantee conversion. Igloo’s approach focuses on minimising friction by presenting insurance at the point of an existing transaction, such as a data top-up. Mehta pointed to behavioral drop-offs in digital journeys, citing “the law of zero click mentality, where every added step leads to a 20% drop in conversion.”

Ultra-low premiums raise questions about sustainability and fraud, issues Igloo says it addresses through scale and product design. Rather than targeting high-risk users, the company distributes offers broadly. “We are looking at targeting close to 100 million transactions a month where these insurance products would be offered,” Mehta said.

Scale also underpins Igloo’s actuarial model. “When you are operating at such a massive scale, the overall risk coefficient of the transaction goes down significantly,” Mehta said. Benefits are capped relative to premiums to limit moral hazard, keeping payouts proportional and predictable.

Technology plays a central role in execution. Mehta emphasised data security, saying that claims are handled through automated systems designed for speed. “We have tried to shorten it to a few seconds to minutes,” he said, reflecting expectations that microinsurance should deliver near-instant resolution.