Siftain Jiwani and Hunain Kabaria

Smart Choice executives

Compiled from 1 recorded interview. Every statement below is drawn from the passage cited beside it.

Siftain Jiwani and Hunain Kabaria are the CEO and CTO of Smart Choice. Jiwani did a work placement in Wombwell, a remote town near Sheffield, where he worked as a website marketing strategist. During his final year he ran for student union president.

Education

Jiwani attended school in Karachi and completed his matriculation there. He finished matric in 2000 and then studied intermediate at a science college. He then went to FAST University to study software engineering. He has said he could not keep up with the GPA there, and he dropped out after one year. [1]

Jiwani has said his father asked him why he did not go abroad for studies. He first enrolled at the University of Wolverhampton in England. He asked a university admission office for a transfer, sent his transcripts, and was accepted. Jiwani has described Manchester as a bigger, more student-friendly city. He studied Business Information Technology for a bachelor's degree, on a sandwich course that lasted four years. [1]

Kabaria attended St. Patrick's High School in Karachi and completed his A-levels in 2006. He went to Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the United States. He lived about 40 miles outside Boston while studying at WPI. He graduated from WPI in 2010 with a degree in electrical and computer engineering. [1]

Kabaria learned about INSEAD from the CEO of Vistaprint, who was an INSEAD graduate. He got into INSEAD in 2015, on its Fontainebleau campus, and graduated in 2016. He completed a one-year MBA. Kabaria has said INSEAD requires a GMAT score of 700 or more and three to four years of work experience. [1]

Career before Smart Choice

Jiwani did a work placement in Wombwell, a remote town near Sheffield, where he worked as a website marketing strategist. During his final year he ran for student union president. He has said he was the first Pakistani and first international student to become student union president. As student union president, he dealt with students, vice chancellors and policy making. [1]

Jiwani returned to Pakistan in 2008. He has said he did not want to join an MNC after returning. He joined a fintech company, where he worked in business development and looked after the Pakistan and West Africa markets. He has said he went to Cameroon, Congo and Burkina Faso. [1]

Kabaria worked for Vistaprint, as a software engineer for five years in a manufacturing software division. He has said he concluded engineering was not his end goal and decided to pursue an MBA. He has said family ties made him want to return to Pakistan after his MBA. [1]

Kabaria started an HR tech startup in Singapore with two INSEAD batchmates, which did not work out. He then tried to build a tech team in Pakistan for that startup, which did not work out. He started a grocery delivery startup in Karachi with high school friends, which did not work out. He has said he tried a grocery delivery startup in 2017, and that it did not work. [1]

Kabaria has said his failed ventures were learning, not a cause for regret. He has said he had never worked in Pakistan before he came back to start companies there. [1]

Smart Choice

Jiwani decided in 2015 to start Smart Choice. He has said that when he was in England there was a concept of aggregators for everything, and that he bought a domain in 2012. He has said he was part of the first batch of an incubator. He has said he had no network in Pakistan when he first considered the aggregator idea, and that the penetration of internet was not there. He has said internet penetration and adoption began to scale when the first licence was issued. [1]

Jiwani has said Smart Choice launched first as an MVP, and that it first launched as a broadband comparison platform. He has said it did not start with insurance or banking. By 2017 Smart Choice had evolved into a financial product comparison platform. Jiwani has said it planned to cover credit cards, car loans, car insurance and mutual funds. He has also said he did consultancy work alongside Smart Choice in its early years. [1]

In 2019, Smart Choice decided to focus on one product. According to Jiwani, it picked a product where it could control the entire customer experience, which other products did not allow. Jiwani proposed to Kabaria that they focus on insurance. Kabaria joined Smart Choice in 2019. [1]

At the end of 2018, Kabaria and Jiwani worked from the same co-working space in Karachi. Kabaria has said Jiwani had just raised funding from the Oman Technology Fund when he was looking for a CTO. Kabaria has said his main reason for joining was linked to his time in America, and that health insurance was the main conversation there during the ObamaCare era. He has said he is Smart Choice's CTO and looks after technology. [1]

Insurance business and claims

Kabaria has said Smart Choice sells health insurance to individuals and to SMEs. He has said it began selling SME health insurance just before COVID, and that it has more than 250 SME clients for health insurance. He has said more than 10,000 to 12,000 lives are insured through Smart Choice. Smart Choice has said Abhi Finance is a client for employee health insurance. Kabaria has said customer feedback helped Smart Choice evolve its products with insurers. [1]

Kabaria has said the insurance value chain is broken, from distribution to claims. Smart Choice has said the real challenge in insurance is how it is distributed today, and that some insurers do not have a proper claims call centre. It has said most claim rejections cite a pre-existing condition, and that insurers often give no proper reason for declining claims. It has said it fights insurance claim rejections on customers' behalf and has a claims team that helps customers. Jiwani has said Kabaria has been leading Smart Choice's claims work. [1]

Smart Choice has said insurers publish total premium and claims figures without splitting them by product. It has said two insurers have shared claim data for its customers. It has said one insurer's claim ratio for its customers is 120 percent and another's is 80 percent. It has said it is pushing other insurers to publish their claim numbers. [1]

Products and pricing

Smart Choice has said its health plans start at 5,000 rupees per person per year, and that health premiums rise with age. It has said SME health plans can be customised to a company's needs. It has said insurance premiums in Pakistan are taken upfront for the full year, which keeps people away. It has said it is testing premiums paid in instalments, a buy-now-pay-later model. It has said it partnered with KistPay to offer health insurance on instalments, and that a family health insurance plan can be bought on a four-month instalment plan. [1]

Smart Choice has said it will exclusively launch a pay-as-you-drive product on its platform in the coming days. It has said pay-as-you-drive insurance calculates premiums from the kilometres driven, and that drivers who cover different distances should not pay the same premium. [1]

Regulation, funding and plans

Smart Choice has said insurance in Pakistan is regulated by the SECP as a financial product, and that the SECP recently launched a sandbox for digital insurers. It has said the paid-up capital requirement for an insurance licence is not very high. It has said it may seek its own insurance licence if insurers do not meet customer demand. [1]

Smart Choice has said it is at seed stage and is now entering the growth stage. It has said it has raised money from institutions including the Oman Technology Fund, and that it raised funding from SOSV, a US venture capital firm. It has said it has not disclosed the size of its last funding round, and that a future funding round is coming. It has said international investors are keen on its market. [1]

Views

Smart Choice has said insurance companies have not changed much in the last 60 years, and that insurers have not upgraded their user experience to appeal to millennials. It has said insurance has a lot of problems to solve before it moves into other products. [1]

Smart Choice has said insurance is not un-Islamic as a concept. It has said a Sharia-compliant insurance model pools contributions into a waqf fund. It has said insurance protects people against unforeseen circumstances. [1]

Kabaria has said he sees a much more aware Pakistan, with far more youth awareness. He has said Pakistan's economy should export higher-value services rather than simple manufacturing. Jiwani has said he hopes Pakistan becomes a more tolerant country, and that stopping the habit of blame is the most important step for Pakistan to progress. [1]

Timeline

2000
Jiwani completed matric.[1]
2006
Kabaria completed his A-levels.[1]
2008
Jiwani returned to Pakistan.[1]
2010
Kabaria graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute.[1]
2012
Jiwani bought a domain.[1]
2015
Jiwani decided to start Smart Choice; Kabaria got into INSEAD.[1]
2016
Kabaria graduated from INSEAD.[1]
2017
Smart Choice had evolved into a financial product comparison platform.[1]
2019
Smart Choice decided to focus on one product, and Kabaria joined.[1]

Appearances

DateTitleWhere
2021-12-13 Pakistan's insurance penetration is less than 1% of GDP Thought Behind Things

Frequently asked questions

Where did Hunain Kabaria study?

Hunain Kabaria attended St. Patrick's High School in Karachi. He graduated from Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the United States in 2010 with a degree in electrical and computer engineering. He completed a one-year MBA at INSEAD, graduating in 2016.[1]

References

  1. Pakistan's insurance penetration is less than 1% of GDP . Thought Behind Things , 2021-12-13.
Show the source passages (113 statements)
  1. Sibtain Jiwani attended school in Karachi and completed his matriculation there. I went to school in Karachi called Al-Murtaza School. Did my matric from there.
  2. Sibtain Jiwani completed matric in 2000 and then studied intermediate at a science college. Matric 2000 mein kiya and then when I went to do inter from Adamjee Science College.
  3. After Adamjee Science College, Sibtain Jiwani went to FAST University to study software engineering. I went to FAST University to do software engineering because
  4. Sibtain Jiwani has said he could not keep up with the GPA at FAST University. I was not able to keep up with the GPA
  5. Sibtain Jiwani dropped out of FAST University after one year. dropped out of FAST University after a year.
  6. Sibtain Jiwani has said his father asked him why he did not go abroad for studies. my father also asked me ke why don't you go abroad for studies?
  7. Sibtain Jiwani first enrolled at the University of Wolverhampton in England. initially I went to University of Wolverhampton because maine inter kiya tha.
  8. Sibtain Jiwani asked a university admission office for a transfer, sent his transcripts, and was accepted. So, I got to the admission office, asked for a transfer, send them all my transcripts and everything and they accepted.
  9. Sibtain Jiwani has described Manchester as a bigger, more student-friendly city. And Manchester is obviously a bigger city, a more student-friendly city.
  10. Sibtain Jiwani studied Business Information Technology for a bachelor's degree in England. So, I was in Business Information Technology. Did my bachelors and it was a sandwich course.
  11. The sandwich course Sibtain Jiwani took in England lasted four years. usually degree teen saal ki hoti hai to ye wali chaar saal ki thi.
  12. Sibtain Jiwani did a work placement in Wombwell, a remote town near Sheffield. I went to do work placement in a remote town out of Sheffield which is called Wombwell.
  13. Sibtain Jiwani worked as a website marketing strategist during his placement. I was doing website marketing strategist. That's that's what I was hired for
  14. During his final year, Sibtain Jiwani ran for student union president. during the final year, you know, I actually ran for the student's union president position.
  15. Sibtain Jiwani has said he was the first Pakistani and first international student to become student union president. I was the first Pakistani, first international student to become a student's union president.
  16. As student union president, Sibtain Jiwani dealt with students, vice chancellors and policy making. that one year I, you know, was interacting with students, with vice chancellors and a lot of policy making.
  17. Sibtain Jiwani returned to Pakistan in 2008. and then I came back to Pakistan 2008, moved back to Pakistan
  18. Sibtain Jiwani has said he did not want to join an MNC after returning to Pakistan. I didn't want to join an MNC or something like that.
  19. Sibtain Jiwani joined a fintech company after returning to Pakistan. But I decided to go on and work for a Fintech company called TPS.
  20. At that company, Sibtain Jiwani worked in business development and looked after the Pakistan and West Africa markets. I worked there as in the business development side and started looking after a number of years looking after Pakistan and West Africa market
  21. Sibtain Jiwani has said he went to Cameroon, Congo and Burkina Faso. So, I went to Cameroon, Congo, Burkina Faso.
  22. Sibtain Jiwani decided in 2015 to start Smart Choice. So, 2015 I decided to start that.
  23. Sibtain Jiwani has said that when he was in England there was a concept of aggregators for everything. when I was in England, there was a concept of aggregators for everything.
  24. Sibtain Jiwani has said he bought a domain in 2012. I actually bought the domain in 2012.
  25. Sibtain Jiwani has said he was part of the first batch of an incubator. I actually was part of the first batch of Nest I/O incubator.
  26. Sibtain Jiwani has said Smart Choice launched first as an MVP. but it was more of an MVP at that time.
  27. Sibtain Jiwani has said Smart Choice first launched as a broadband comparison platform. launch with a broadband comparison platform.
  28. Sibtain Jiwani has said Smart Choice did not start with insurance or banking. We we actually did not start with insurance. Did not even start with banking.
  29. Sibtain Jiwani has said he had no network in Pakistan when he first considered the aggregator idea. yaar yahan to mera ek network nahi hai, I don't know people here.
  30. Sibtain Jiwani has said the penetration of internet was not there. Secondly, the penetration of internet is not there.
  31. Sibtain Jiwani has said internet penetration and adoption began to scale when the first licence was issued. First time uska license issue hua and that was the time when really things started to really scale in terms of penetration and adoption of internet
  32. Smart Choice evolved into a financial product comparison platform by 2017. So, 2017 tak we evolved into a financial product comparison platform.
  33. Sibtain Jiwani has said Smart Choice planned to cover credit cards, car loans, car insurance and mutual funds. Be it a banking product like a credit card, a car loan, car insurance, be it mutual funds.
  34. Sibtain Jiwani has said he also did consultancy work alongside Smart Choice in its early years. I was also doing consultancy work as well.
  35. In 2019, Smart Choice decided to focus on one product. 2019 when we looked at it, we decided ke yaar let's just focus on one product.
  36. Smart Choice picked a product where it could control the entire customer experience, which other products did not allow, according to Sibtain Jiwani. we could actually control the entire customer experience which other products did not allow us
  37. Sibtain Jiwani proposed to Hunain Kabaria that they focus on insurance. Phir maine Hunain ko bola Hunain yaar ek kaam karte hain, let's just you know focus on insurance.
  38. Hunain Kabaria joined Smart Choice in 2019. So, then we joined forces in 2019
  39. Hunain Kabaria attended St. Patrick's High School in Karachi. I graduate did my schooling from St. Patrick's High School in Karachi.
  40. Hunain Kabaria completed his A-levels in 2006. graduated from my A-levels in 2006.
  41. Hunain Kabaria went to Worcester Polytechnic Institute in the United States. Then I went to the US to a university called WPI, Worcester Polytechnic Institute
  42. Hunain Kabaria lived about 40 miles outside Boston while studying at WPI. I was living about 40 miles outside of Boston.
  43. Hunain Kabaria graduated from WPI in 2010 with a degree in electrical and computer engineering. Did my degree in electrical and computer engineering from there and graduated in 2010.
  44. Hunain Kabaria worked for Vistaprint. Worked for this company called Vistaprint.
  45. Hunain Kabaria worked as a software engineer for five years in a manufacturing software division. Worked for five years as a software engineer, working in the manufacturing software division.
  46. Hunain Kabaria has said he concluded engineering was not his end goal and decided to pursue an MBA. engineering won't isn't the end goal. So, was looking to do an MBA.
  47. Hunain Kabaria learned about INSEAD from Vistaprint's CEO, who was an INSEAD graduate. Then I came across INSEAD kyunke Vistaprint ka CEO tha, he was a INSEAD graduate.
  48. Hunain Kabaria got into INSEAD in 2015 and graduated from its Fontainebleau campus in 2016. got into INSEAD in 2015 in the Fontainebleau campus and graduated from there in 2016.
  49. Hunain Kabaria completed a one-year INSEAD MBA. One year did INSEAD MBA, amazing experience
  50. Hunain Kabaria has said INSEAD requires a GMAT score of 700 or more. You need 700 plus in the GMAT.
  51. Hunain Kabaria has said INSEAD applicants need three to four years of work experience. you need three to four years of experience
  52. Hunain Kabaria has said family ties made him want to return to Pakistan after his MBA. wahi desiyon ka jo hota hai, family hai, ye hai, wapas aana hai kisi tarah.
  53. Hunain Kabaria started an HR tech startup in Singapore with two INSEAD batchmates, which did not work out. Ek Singapore mein startup kiya do goron ke saath who were my INSEAD batchmates in HR tech, didn't work out.
  54. Hunain Kabaria then tried to build a tech team in Pakistan for that startup, which did not work out. trying to build a tech team for them, didn't work out.
  55. Hunain Kabaria started a grocery delivery startup in Karachi with high school friends, which did not work out. Phir ek grocery delivery startup kiya in Karachi with some high school friends, didn't work out.
  56. Hunain Kabaria tried a grocery delivery startup in 2017, and it did not work. 2017 mein grocery delivery startup try kiya, nahi chala.
  57. Hunain Kabaria has said his failed ventures were learning, not a cause for regret. Dukh nahi hota, learning. Learning.
  58. Hunain Kabaria has said he had never worked in Pakistan before he came back to start companies there. maine Pakistan mein kabhi kaam nahi kiya tha.
  59. At the end of 2018, Hunain Kabaria and Sibtain Jiwani worked from the same co-working space in Karachi. 2018 ke end mein me and Sibtain were working at out of same co-working space called Workhall in Karachi.
  60. Hunain Kabaria has said Sibtain Jiwani had just raised funding from the Oman Technology Fund when he was looking for a CTO. Sibtain had just raised funding from Oman Technology Fund for Smart Choice. He was looking for a CTO
  61. Hunain Kabaria has said his main reason for joining Smart Choice was linked to his time in America. my primary reason for joining was kyunke main America mein tha
  62. Hunain Kabaria has said health insurance was the main conversation in America during the ObamaCare era. Aur usmein sabse bada jo conversation in America was always about health insurance.
  63. Hunain Kabaria has said he is Smart Choice's CTO and looks after technology. I am the CTO, I look after tech definitely
  64. Hunain Kabaria has said Smart Choice has more than 250 SME clients for health insurance. now we have more than 250 uh SMEs
  65. Hunain Kabaria has said more than 10,000 to 12,000 lives are insured through Smart Choice. More than 10,000, 12,000 lives which are already insured through us.
  66. Hunain Kabaria has said Smart Choice sells health insurance to individuals and to SMEs. we actually work in two segments. So, we we we target the individual customers.
  67. Hunain Kabaria has said Smart Choice began selling SME health insurance just before COVID. Just before COVID, we started getting into that.
  68. Hunain Kabaria has said the insurance value chain is broken, from distribution to claims. we really figured out that this entire value chain is broken.
  69. Hunain Kabaria has said customer feedback helped Smart Choice evolve its products with insurers. So, that feedback really helped evolve the product over a period of time.
  70. Smart Choice has said the real challenge in insurance is how it is distributed today. the real challenge is the way insurance is distributed today or the distribution channel of insurance exists today.
  71. Smart Choice has said some insurers do not have a proper claims call centre. Sometimes toh kisi ke paas shayad claims ka bhi call center nahi hai proper tarike se
  72. Smart Choice has said most claim rejections cite a pre-existing condition. zyada tar jo rejections aati hain claims ki, woh ek hi reason hoti hai jo insurance company de deti hai. Yeh pehle se bimari hai aapko.
  73. Smart Choice has said insurers often give no proper reason for declining claims. on the claims desk, they do not give you a proper reason of decline.
  74. Smart Choice has said it fights insurance claim rejections on customers' behalf. we actually fight the case on your behalf, uh, with the insurance company as well.
  75. Smart Choice has said it has a claims team that helps customers. So, we have a case handler, the claims team, who would actually assist the customer with that.
  76. Sibtain Jiwani has said Hunain Kabaria has been leading Smart Choice's claims work. I think Hunain has been like on the, you know, leading that on front.
  77. Smart Choice has said insurers publish total premium and claims figures without splitting them by product. Yeh nahi dikhate ke gaadi ka itna premium book hua, itna claim diya
  78. Smart Choice has said two insurers have shared claim data for its customers. abhi hamare do companies ne have shared the claim data for our customers.
  79. Smart Choice has said one insurer's claim ratio for its customers is 120 percent. So, one insurance company is at 120% claim ratio
  80. Smart Choice has said another insurer's claim ratio for its customers is 80 percent. Aur ek aur insurance company is standing at 80%
  81. Smart Choice has said it is pushing other insurers to publish their claim numbers. pushing other insurance companies to also release their numbers and make this a practice.
  82. Smart Choice has said its health plans start at 5,000 rupees per person per year. It starts at 5,000 rupees per person per year.
  83. Smart Choice has said health premiums rise with age. So, generally, younger age mein premium kam hota hai. As you, your age increases, your premium increases.
  84. Smart Choice has said SME health plans can be customised to a company's needs. So, the SMEs can customize the plan to their needs.
  85. Smart Choice has said insurance premiums in Pakistan are taken upfront for the full year, which keeps people away. woh liya jata hai upfront, poore saal ka. Right. And that is what It's a big hit.
  86. Smart Choice has said it is testing premiums paid in instalments, a buy-now-pay-later model. we are, we are now experimenting that on that by, by actually going on an installment kind of a, buy now, pay later sort of a situation.
  87. Smart Choice has said it will exclusively launch a pay-as-you-drive product on its platform in the coming days. And we are going to exclusively launch that product on our platform, uh, in the coming days.
  88. Smart Choice has said pay-as-you-drive insurance calculates premiums from the kilometres driven. and it goes by miles. So, number of kilometers that you have driven, uh, your premium is calculated based on that.
  89. Smart Choice has said drivers who cover different distances should not pay the same premium. why should you pay the same premium as I do, right?
  90. Smart Choice has said insurance in Pakistan is regulated by the SECP as a financial product. Definitely, obviously, it's SECP regulated, it's a financial product.
  91. Smart Choice has said the SECP recently launched a sandbox for digital insurers. they recently launched a sandbox as well for, uh, so where you can actually launch a complete digital insurance company as well.
  92. Smart Choice has said the paid-up capital requirement for an insurance licence is not very high. the paid up capital requirement is really not that high
  93. Smart Choice has said it may seek its own insurance licence if insurers do not meet customer demand. if insurance companies are not ready to do that, then we will have to get our hands on such kind of a license and get into that space as well.
  94. Smart Choice has said insurance companies have not changed much in the last 60 years. in the last 60 years, insurance companies haven't changed much.
  95. Smart Choice has said insurers have not upgraded their user experience to appeal to millennials. they haven't been able to upgrade that user experience to make it appeal to a, to a millennial, um, somehow.
  96. Smart Choice has said insurance has a lot of problems to solve before it moves into other products. there are a lot of problems that we are, we have to solve in insurance.
  97. Smart Choice has said it is at seed stage. we are at seed stage right now.
  98. Smart Choice has said it is now entering the growth stage. we are now entering the growth stage, the scale stage.
  99. Smart Choice has said it has not disclosed the size of its last funding round. we have not disclosed that.
  100. Smart Choice has said a future funding round is coming. Inshallah, inshallah. That's coming.
  101. Smart Choice has said it has raised money from institutions including the Oman Technology Fund. we've raised money from institutions like, uh, OTF, Oman Technology Fund
  102. Smart Choice has said it raised funding from SOSV, a US venture capital firm. we've raised it from SOSV, uh, which is, uh, the second largest or second fastest at least US VC.
  103. Smart Choice has said international investors are keen on its market. International investors, US investors are really, really keen on this market.
  104. Smart Choice has said Abhi Finance is a client for employee health insurance. Abhi Finance is also a client for employees health insurance.
  105. Smart Choice has said it partnered with KistPay to offer health insurance on instalments. we've, we've, we've actually partnered with KistPay as well, uh, to, to offer this similar thing on health insurance as well.
  106. Smart Choice has said a family health insurance plan can be bought on a four-month instalment plan. you can actually buy health insurance for your family on an installment plan for four months.
  107. Smart Choice has said insurance is not un-Islamic as a concept. This is not un-Islamic. So, the concept is not un-Islamic.
  108. Smart Choice has said a Sharia-compliant insurance model pools contributions into a waqf fund. Sharia compliant, ki ek waqf fund banana hai, us waqf fund ke andar sab pool in karein.
  109. Smart Choice has said insurance protects people against unforeseen circumstances. jo insurance ka concept hai na, woh hai protecting against unforeseen circumstance.
  110. Hunain Kabaria has said he sees a much more aware Pakistan, with far more youth awareness. I see a much more aware Pakistan, jahan youth mein awareness bahut zyada hogi.
  111. Hunain Kabaria has said Pakistan's economy should export higher-value services rather than simple manufacturing. ek service level economy hogi aur we will be generating exports which will be of much higher dollar value than just doing simple manufacturing.
  112. Sibtain Jiwani has said he hopes Pakistan becomes a more tolerant country. I hope ke jo hai woh Pakistan, uh, is a, is a more tolerant, uh, country
  113. Sibtain Jiwani has said stopping the habit of blame is the most important step for Pakistan to progress. the last and the most important thing for this nation to progress is stop blaming things.