siliconindia | | JULY 20258At the very core of India's vibrant economy pulses a silent but powerful force its small and micro-enterprises. Like the quiet rhythm of a village loom or the gentle clang of a roadside blacksmith, these businesses hub with resilience and resourcefulness. Contributing nearly 30% to India's GDP and employing over 110 million people, they are the unacknowledged architects of a rising India.Yet, for decades, they've walked the economic tightrope without a net. Insurance a word often wrapped in paperwork and perceived as a luxury has remained elusive. But winds are shifting. Technology, like a monsoon breaking a dry spell, is democratizing insurance making it not just accessible but deeply personal, affordable, and relevant.A Digital AwakeningIndia's digital revolution, led by the spread of smartphones, low-cost data, and government initiatives like Digital India and Aadhaar, has reimagined how services reach the masses. Insurance is no exception.Ankit Agrawal, Founder & CEO of InsuranceDekho, captures this shift: "Initiatives such as the "Digital India' campaign and the introduction of Aadhaar-based e-KYC have facilitated the seamless onboarding of customers and enabled insurers to offer digital insurance products and services".From a turmeric farmer in Satara securing crop insurance over WhatsApp, to a food delivery worker in Bengaluru buying health cover on his tea break what once seemed alien is now a tap away. Technology has become the new village postman, carrying protection instead of letters.Smarter, Faster, PersonalizedBut access is just the beginning. Tech is weaving intelligence into every insurance interaction. AI-driven underwriting tools decode data to price risk precisely. Machine learning accelerates claims and sniffs out fraud like a vigilant hawk.Kamlesh Rao, MD & CEO of Aditya Birla Sun Life Insurance, shares: "Platforms like AUSIS provide holistic customer views, aiding in selecting the right customers at the right price".What once took weeks of paper shuffling now takes minutes. No more one-size-fits-all. A chai wala in Kanpur and a boutique owner in Kozhikode can now have plans tailored to their rhythm of life.Bridging Trust Through Hybrid DistributionYet, in Bharat the India beyond metros technology must walk with a human hand. Local agents remain trusted advisors. They explain, reassure, and translate insurance-speak into lived realities.R Doraiswamy, Managing Director at LIC, notes: "LIC is an agency-driven business organization. We look at technology as an enabler or catalyst to further strengthen the agency force".This is not a digital takeover. It is a digital handshake where tradition and tech meet to serve better.Embedded and Micro InsuranceSmall businesses don't need sprawling corporate cover. They need precise, timely shields- crop protection for a season, cargo cover for a journey, health insurance for a festive rush.Embedded and micro-insurance now offer that. A mobile phone comes with screen damage protection. A logistics app delivers insured shipments. It's insurance on autopilot, tucked into daily life like ghee in parathas.Just as UPI turned complex banking into a simple QR scan, embedded insurance turns protection into something invisible, yet omnipresent.The Rise of InsurtechsStartups are the new poets of protection, rewriting the insurance script. Acko, Digit, Turtlemint, and Covrzy are not just selling policies they're sculpting experiences. Cloud-first, API-driven, fast as lightning.Harish Rama Rao, SVP at Acko, says: "With our multi cloud technology and ML based pricing, we personalise insurance recommendations based on customer data. This ensures that customers receive tailored pricing models EDITORIAL EXCLUSIVEEMPOWERING SMALL BUSINESSES: THE ROLE OF TECHNOLOGY IN DEMOCRATIZING INSURANCE IN INDIABY SNIGDHA DAS, CORRESPONDENT, SILICONINDIA
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