Policybazaar’s next gambit

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Editor's note: Comparison. That has been Policybazaar’s moat for the last 13 years. As the fabled story goes, Yashish Dahiya’s father was cheated out of his hard-earned money by a few insurance brokers. So Dahiya junior went on a crusade and co-founded Policybazaar so that upwardly mobile customers with access to an internet connection could go online, look up and compare insurance policies and purchase a policy that makes sense for them. And hence, not feel cheated. It is remarkable how this little act of retribution and the insight that customers would be served better if they compared stuff before putting down the money has spawned a business that’s generating Rs 800 crore of cash every year and a humble bottom line. And now after 13 years building in private, Policybazaar has come to the public markets to raise more capital. The event is as big as it gets because Policybazaar is no small startup. With investments from first Tiger Global and then SoftBank—a common pair of investors now, but a rare sight in years prior—it is one of India’s finest specimens …