Jasleen Kohli, MD and CEO of Digit Insurance

By Bhavya Dilipkumar ETtechLast Updated: Apr 20, 2022, 06:03 PM IST

New Delhi: Digit Insurance, which is backed by Canadian billionaire Prem Watsa, announced on Monday that Jasleen Kohli has been named as the company's new managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) with effect from April 20, 2022.

Kohli will succeed Vijay Kumar, who has held the post since the business's founding in 2017, and will retire from the company on April 19, 2022.

“I am delighted about this new responsibility entrusted in me by the Digit team. While it will be hard to fill Vijay’s experienced shoes, I am excited about this challenge,” Kohli said.

Kohli formerly served as chief distribution officer (CDO) at Digit, where she was responsible for all of the company's sales and distribution channels. Before joining Digit as the CDO in 2017, she was the director at Allianz Technology. Kohli, 42, will be one of youngest CEOs in the insurance industry.

Last year, Digit had raised $200 million in a funding round which doubled its valuation to $3.5 billion in less than six months.

Kumar, the outgoing CEO said, “I have had a fulfilling inning at Digit and I’m happy to see this baby grow into a giant player in such a short span of time. I am confident Jasleen will execute Digit's ambitious growth plans with ease and take the company to greater heights in the coming years. As a passionate veteran of this industry, I will keenly keep an eye on Digit as it transforms the insurance space through its tech capabilities in the coming years.”

Digit predominantly sells motor insurance, which accounts for nearly 75% of its product mix while commercial fire insurance accounts for 13% of the portfolio. Since 2020, the startup has also been selling health insurance cover that along with travel insurance makes up the balance 12%.

Speaking about the appointment, Kamesh Goyal, chairman, Digit Insurance, said, “ Jasleen’s agile market strategies and her prudent operational planning have aided the company in expanding its presence at an accelerated pace despite the pandemic….”

The company also announced it has promoted Adarsh Agarwal from the role of appointed actuary to chief distribution officer (corporate business), while Nikhil Kamdar has taken up the former position of Agarwal to become the new appointed actuary.