Global private equity firm Warburg Pincus has announced that it will invest US$350 million to establish Oona Insurance, a digital general insurance platform in Southeast Asia.

According to Warburg Pincus, this investment is the largest-ever seed funding round for a digital insurance venture in the region.

Oona will be led by Abhishek Bhatia (pictured above), former CEO of FWD Singapore and head of FWD’s new business models division.

Oona will grow its presence in the region through a buy-and-build strategy, with two acquisitions to kick off its operations – PT Asuransi Bina Dana Arta Tbk (ABDA) in Indonesia and Mapfre Insular Insurance Corporation (MIIC) in the Philippines.

Warburg Pincus said the acquisitions will give Oona an initial product portfolio and existing distribution relationships and infrastructure. Both companies will be rebranded as Oona in due course. With ABDA and MIIC under its wing, Oona’s product offering includes motor, property, and group health insurance, aiming to meet local customer demands.

Bhatia said that Southeast Asia’s general insurance market is significantly underpenetrated and “ripe” for digital disruption by a customer-focused organisation with strong technology capabilities.

“I am very excited to partner with Warburg Pincus to build Oona into a truly world-class company,” Bhatia said. “With the support of Warburg Pincus, Oona will continue to explore opportunities to deepen the depth and breadth of its presence in key markets in Southeast Asia. All the assets and operations will be consolidated under a coherent operating model and a common brand and tech stack, positioning us well to capture the rapidly growing opportunities for digital general insurance in the region.”

“With consistently rising incomes and accelerating digital adoption, we believe Oona is well positioned to capture the tremendous growth opportunity for digital insurance across Southeast Asia,” said Saurabh Agarwal, managing director of Warburg Pincus. “We are excited about our partnership with Abhishek and Oona’s talented management team and look forward to leveraging our deep expertise in the insurance sector to support Oona’s growth aspirations.”