Insurtech startup InsuranceDekho said it has stopped issuing travel insurance to Maldives in “support of national interest” on January 8, following the ongoing controversy of three ministers in the island country getting suspended over making disparaging comments against Prime Minister Narendra Modi for encouraging Indians to visit Lakshadweep.
This comes a few hours after online travel aggregator EaseMyTrip suspended all Maldives flight bookings and got into discussions with airlines to arrange direct flights to Lakshadweep from three cities, including Delhi, Mumbai, and Bengaluru.
Many Indian tourists too cancelled their upcoming tours to Maldives.
Reacting to the controversy, Yajur Mahendru, product head at InsuranceDekho took to LinkedIn and said, “We at InsuranceDekho have decided to immediately stop issuance of travel insurance to the Maldives on our platform. We stand united with our country and align with our nation’s interests.”
“It’s time to explore our own our island treasures, such as the beautiful Lakshadweep, that beckon with unparalleled beauty and charm,” he added.
According to Maldives Tourism Ministry’s data, in 2023, India remained the largest tourist market for the country with 209,198 arrivals — the highest number of visitors to the island country. This was followed by Russia in second place with 209,146 arrivals, and China in third place with 187,118 arrivals.
Meanwhile, the Maldivian Foreign Ministry said that they were aware of the “derogatory remarks on social media platforms against foreign leaders and high-ranking individuals”.
“These opinions are personal and do not represent the views of the Government of Maldives,” the ministry added.
InsuranceDekho is the insurance arm of car-selling unicorn CarDekho, which became one of the few startups in 2023 to continue raising funds. It last raised $60 million in a mix of equity and debt in an ongoing Series B funding round from Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, BNP Paribas Cardif’s insurance fund managed by Eurazeo, Beams Fintech Fund and Yogesh Mahansaria Family Office.
In February 2023, the startup had raised $150 million in Series A round. The startup is likely valued at over $500 million. Its other investors include TVS Capital, Goldman Sachs Asset Management and Avataar Ventures.
Source: Moneycontrol
