Yandex plans to develop insurance business and is looking for a company to buy – Kommersant

The holding company, according to the newspaper’s interlocutors, is looking for a small insurance company with a purchasing license. According to one of them, the first employees for the new management have already been hired.

Experts consider this a logical step for the company, which continues to actively expand its ecosystem. According to analysts, the acquisition of an asset with a capital of 300 to 800 million rubles will allow Yandex to launch its own insurance line. It will be easier for a holding company to buy a ready-made company than to create a company from scratch, as this will allow them to immediately use a universal business model and accelerate growth, experts noted.

In his opinion, in the first year of the insurer’s collaboration with the new shareholder, the growth of new business could amount to 20-30 billion rubles, which would double the volume of premiums for an average market player. The advantage will be Yandex’s extensive customer base and cross-selling opportunities, the publication’s interlocutors note.

Some experts also warned about the risks of starting your own insurance company. They point out additional costs associated with underwriting, settlement of claims and implementation of IT systems, which may be less profitable than cooperation with partners under the white label model (under this system, a company produces a product or provides a service , and the second sells this product or service under its own brand – editor’s note).

• Yandex unites companies that develop a marketplace, a search engine and various IT businesses.
• In early 2024, MCAO Yandex was created, to which the majority of assets were transferred as part of the restructuring of the Dutch Yandex NY.
• In 2024, Yandex’s audience exceeded 100 million users.