It was during Khet Singh Rajpurohit’s stint at a healthcare startup that he gained firsthand experience of the struggles of patients seeking to settle insurance claims. The cofounder of ClaimBuddy saw numerous cases where individuals had to extend their hospital stays or endure more stress, simply due to delayed or denied claims.
During his second year at IIM Bangalore, Rajpurohit reached out to Ajit Patel, his former colleague who was leading insurance operations at the healthcare startup, and the two delved deeper into the complexities and inefficiencies in claim processing. Eventually, they envisioned a solution that would simplify the claims process for patients and healthcare providers alike.Thus sparked the idea of ClaimBuddy, which won this year’s Best on Campus category at The Economic Times Startup Awards, for aiming to solve the major issue of making the health insurance claim process more transparent and efficient. Others in the Best on Campus category included aerospace and urban mobility startup Khageshvara Aviation Technology, fuel-aggregator platform Nawgati, cleantech startup Yotuh Energy, and Culture Circle, a luxury marketplace for sneakers, watches, and streetwear.
ETtech“ClaimBuddy is a commitment to ensure that patients receive the care they need without the added stress of navigating complex insurance processes. We are driven by the belief that healthcare should be compassionate, efficient, and accessible for everyone,” said Rajpurohit.
Typically, the insurance industry includes third party administrators (TPAs) who work with insurers for claim processing. However, there is no such interface available for hospitals and patients.
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Gurugram-based ClaimBuddy, whose competitors include ClaimTherapist and BimaGarage, is looking to address this gap in the insurance chain.As much as 91% of total premiums collected from selling health insurance policies gets claimed back. While there are many firms selling insurance, almost none are solving the claims issue, even after both being equally large markets, said Rajpurohit.
“We have encountered numerous cases where patients had to spend additional nights in hospitals because approval didn’t come through, or where individuals, despite paying premiums for years, had their claims amounting to thousands of dollars denied for relatively small filing errors. While many players focus on selling insurance, we are on the other side, assisting people in having a seamless claim experience,” said Patel.
Post-Covid, there has been surge in awareness and uptake of health insurance, and ClaimBuddy’s aim is to ensure that patients and hospitals can work together effortlessly during the claims process.
The startup, which has about 130 employees, has processed claims worth over Rs 180 crore and works with over 125 hospitals, and has served over 15,000 patients so far. Valued at $23 million as of this April, its investors include Bharat Innovation Fund (BIF), Chiratae Ventures, Rebright Partners, and Titan Capital.
In April, Claimbuddy raised $5 million in a Series A funding round. The fundraise was led by BIF, with participation from Japan’s CAC Capital and existing investors including Chiratae Ventures and Rebright Partners.
“The recent investment will help us to scale our operations, enhance product offerings, and expand our reach to more hospitals. We also plan to test a couple of new product offerings,” said Patel.
Meanwhile, Claimbuddy is looking to hire tech and product talent, as well as senior leaders to head product and strategy roles.