Igloo's next act: from selling embedded insurance to running the infrastructure behind it in Thailand, the Philippines and Indonesia

Millions of people across Southeast Asia have bought an Igloo product without knowing the name. It might have been screen protection added at checkout on a marketplace, travel cover in a wallet app, credit protection on a loan, or this month's Rp500 rain policy inside Indonesia's DANA wallet. Igloo, founded in Singapore in 2016, built its business by designing insurance that partners could sell inside their own apps. In 2026 it is trying to become something larger: the technology infrastructure that insurers, banks and platforms use to build and run insurance themselves.

The shift is visible in a string of moves this year. In April Igloo set out a strategy to become a full-stack technology infrastructure provider. In June it bought Eazy Digital to strengthen its business in Thailand, where it is also building a digital insurer with JMT Network Services. In the Philippines it is deepening ties with banks, telcos, e-wallets and platforms. Together they show how an embedded insurance pioneer intends to grow into a profitable regional platform.

What Igloo does today

Igloo describes itself as a full-stack insurtech operating across six markets: Singapore, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam and Malaysia. It works with more than 100 insurance and distribution partners and has facilitated more than 1.6 billion policies to date, according to figures reported in June, processing more than 100 million policies a month.

Its distribution runs through four channels. Partnerships embed insurance in other companies' apps and checkouts, with named partners including AIS, Shopee, foodpanda, GCash, Siam Commercial Bank, Bukalapak and Shippit. Direct-to-consumer sales run through its own platforms, such as igloo.co.id in Indonesia. Its Ignite platform supports sales agents in Vietnam and Indonesia, and it also operates as a broker.

The product range is broad: device and electronics protection, e-commerce purchase protection, travel, personal accident, loan protection, cyber security, pet, motor and weather index insurance. Many are micro-policies priced for mass-market users, which only work when distribution and claims are almost entirely automated.

Why Igloo is pivoting to infrastructure

The April strategy, led in the Philippines by newly appointed country head Ramjit Lahiri, framed the goal clearly: move from embedded insurance distributor to full-stack technology infrastructure provider for digital platforms and financial institutions. Lahiri, who previously led Carmudi, Lamudi and OYO in the Philippines, was tasked with deepening partnerships with banks, telcos, e-wallets and platforms, and extending cover to gig workers, micro-entrepreneurs and climate risks.

The reason is economic. Distribution commissions depend on partners' sales volumes and on their willingness to share revenue. Infrastructure, meaning the systems that design products, administer policies and process claims, can be sold to many insurers and platforms on a recurring basis. Igloo's third-party administration revenue nearly tripled in 2024, according to Insurance Business, showing the model is already contributing.

Igloo also argues that the market needs it. Most Thai insurers and intermediaries still run distribution, product configuration and claims on legacy systems that take three to six months to launch a single product, the company says. Its Igloo Tech Solutions platform, powered by automation, can cut that timeline to days. In a market where platforms want to launch and test products quickly, that speed is the pitch.

The company has built a set of tools around that promise, including Igloo Tech Solutions, Igloo Agent, Igloo Consumer, Igloo Partner and its Turbo Core System. Each targets a different part of the insurance value chain, from agent management to consumer journeys to core policy administration.

Igloo's bet is that the most valuable part of insurance in Southeast Asia is not the policy but the software that builds, sells and pays it.

Thailand: Eazy Digital and a digital insurer with JMT

Thailand is where the strategy is most advanced. In 2025 Igloo formed a joint venture with JMT Network Services to build what the companies call Thailand's first true digital insurer. In June 2026 it acquired Eazy Digital, a Singapore-headquartered insurtech with operations across Thailand and Asia, describing it as its second major Thai transaction in 12 months.

Eazy Digital, founded in 2022, provides a unified platform that helps insurers and brokers digitise agent management, streamline operations and improve sales productivity. It manages more than 20,000 agents and issues millions of policies monthly, with customers including Marsh Taiwan, Bangkok Insurance, Falcon Insurance, Gallagher, Chubb and Tokio Marine Safety Insurance Thailand. Its founder, Harprem Doowa, became country head of Igloo Thailand and head of tech solutions for Asia Pacific.

The timing fits Thailand's policy agenda. The country's insurance sector is entering reform under its 5th Insurance Development Plan for 2026 to 2030, which positions insurance as a pillar of national economic resilience. Insurers under pressure to modernise are natural customers for technology that shortens product launches and digitises agents.

• 2025: joint venture with JMT Network Services to build a digital insurer in Thailand.
• June 2026: acquisition of Eazy Digital, supporting more than 20,000 agents.
• Leadership: Harprem Doowa, country head of Igloo Thailand and head of tech solutions APAC.
• Context: Thailand's 5th Insurance Development Plan, 2026 to 2030.

The Philippines: platforms, riders and a huge protection gap

The Philippines offers a different opportunity. Insurance premiums reached PHP502.6 billion, about 8.37 billion US dollars, in 2025, up 14.1 percent, according to the Insurance Commission. Yet penetration remains below 2 percent of GDP, short of the regulator's target, and GlobalData estimates a catastrophe protection gap of around 98 percent in a country frequently hit by typhoons.

Igloo has worked with more than 40 digital platforms in the Philippines and launched more than 55 local products, with partners including GCash, Shopee, Lazada and Smart Communications. One example shows the model in action: a deal with motorcycle ride-hailing app Angkas provides personal accident and medical cover for more than 20,000 riders, priced per ride.

The 2026 targets extend into banking, consumer finance, e-commerce and healthcare. For banks and lenders, embedded credit protection and health cover are natural add-ons. For platforms, insurance priced per trip, per order or per day turns protection into part of the service rather than a separate purchase.

Indonesia and Vietnam: telcos, wallets and farmers

In Indonesia, Igloo distributes through partners including Telkomsel and DANA, and launched an AI travel insurance assistant in June that it said increased purchase decisions by 44 percent. The DANA Rain Protection product, priced at Rp500, is the latest example of Igloo turning parametric technology into a consumer product, as we covered in our report on the DANA launch.

In Vietnam, Igloo's weather index insurance began with rice farmers and has extended to coffee farmers, using data on rainfall and temperature to trigger payouts without field inspections. Its Ignite agent platform has recruited tens of thousands of agents across Vietnam and Indonesia, giving it a hybrid model that combines digital distribution with human sales.

These markets show the range of what an infrastructure provider can support: consumer micro-policies, agent networks and agricultural risk, all running on shared technology. That breadth is what Igloo hopes will make it the default partner for insurers and platforms across the region.

What the pivot means for insurers and platforms

For insurers, Igloo is both partner and potential competitor. Its technology can help them launch products faster and reach customers through digital channels, and investors such as Tokio Marine have backed it. But its joint venture digital insurer in Thailand shows it can also move into underwriting territory. Insurers will weigh the benefits of its tools against the risk of empowering a rival.

For platforms, the attraction is speed and simplicity. A wallet, marketplace or ride-hailing app can offer insurance without building an insurance operation, and can adjust products quickly as it learns what users want. The question is economics: how revenue is shared and who owns the customer data.

For the region, Igloo's model is a test of whether insurtech can close protection gaps profitably. Its 2025 results showed revenue up 45.9 percent and losses cut sharply, as detailed in our analysis of Igloo's financials. If the infrastructure pivot sustains that trajectory, it could become a template for others.

Igloo is turning a decade of embedded insurance experience into an infrastructure business. Through Eazy Digital and its JMT venture in Thailand, platform partnerships in the Philippines and parametric products in Indonesia and Vietnam, it is building the systems that let others sell and service insurance at scale. If the strategy works, the next billion policies sold in Southeast Asia may run on Igloo's software, whatever brand appears on the screen.