Earnings growth sparks Oona’s SEA buying binge in 2025

With additional reporting by Samreen Ahmad

This story was originally published in The Business Times. It was substantially modified to reflect Tech in Asia’s editorial direction and standards.

Singapore-headquartered Oona Insurance is ramping up its Southeast Asia expansion, group CEO Abhishek Bhatia tells The Business Times.

The insurtech startup is targeting acquisitions in Thailand and Vietnam while also eyeing further deals in its existing markets.

Oona CEO Abhishek Bhatia / Photo credit: Oona

Speaking to Tech in Asia, Bhatia says Oona is also looking to acquire a company in Indonesia and another one in the Philippines around two months from now.

Founded in 2021 and backed by private equity firm Warburg Pincus, the company is already present in both countries. Oona also plans to launch a host of products amid rising per capita incomes and shifting consumer habits in Southeast Asia.

Bhatia says the company is “disciplined” about acquisitions, focusing only on targets that either have scalable products, strong distribution networks, or capabilities it currently lacks.

“We are well capitalized for both acquisition and growth,” he adds.

The general insurer still has a US$350 million war chest it received from Warburg Pincus in 2022. Oona previously acquired Indonesia-based Asuransi Bina Dana Arta and Mapfre Insular Insurance Corporation in the Philippines.

Oona is bullish on Southeast Asia, noting that several economies in the region have either reached or are approaching the per capita income threshold of about US$5,000. Financial service providers often consider this level a tipping point, where people have enough wealth to spend on insurance and other financial products.

Oona has turned profitable in Indonesia in just over two years, with topline – gross written premiums – growth of 8% and profit after tax (PAT) of 80 billion rupiah (US$4.9 million) in 2024. It continues to be profitable in the first half of 2025, with profits climbing by 28.7% from H1 2024 to US$3 million.

The company achieved this by leveraging technology and introducing new micro health insurance products such as cancer insurance for just US$10 a year and cyber insurance for bank transactions.

In the Philippines, Oona’s net loss went down by 53% to US$674,000 between January and July 2025 on the back of “disciplined underwriting and cost management.”

Claims nightmare