Ather Energy gets a licence to sell insurance. Why would a scooter maker want that?

Picture this. You walk into a showroom to buy an electric scooter. You pick the colour, pay, and get the keys. Then the same company asks: do you also want your insurance from us? Soon, that could happen at Ather. On 15 October 2026, India's insurance regulator gave Ather's insurance arm a licence to sell and look after insurance policies.

Ather Energy is a Bengaluru company that makes electric scooters. So why does a scooter maker want to sell insurance? Here is the story in simple words.

What exactly did Ather get?

The licence went to Ather Insurance, a company fully owned by Ather Energy. The regulator is called IRDAI, short for the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India. Think of IRDAI as the umpire for insurance in India.

IRDAI gave Ather Insurance a certificate of registration as a composite corporate agent, under rules written in 2015. Ather shared the news in a stock exchange filing. That is a public notice that listed companies must put out when something important happens.

Those are big words, so let us break them down.

• Insurance: you pay a small amount every year, called a premium. If something bad happens, like an accident, the insurance company pays the big bill. It is like a group of friends each putting Rs 10 into a box, so whoever drops their phone can use the box money to fix it.
• Corporate agent: a company that sells insurance made by someone else. It is like a kirana shop that sells Amul milk. The shop does not own the cows. It just sells the packets.
• Composite: the licence covers all three kinds of insurance: life, general and health. General insurance includes things like vehicle insurance.

Is Ather becoming an insurance company?

No, and this part matters. The licence lets Ather Insurance act as a middle seller for policies issued by insurers. It does not let Ather "underwrite" insurance.

Underwriting means taking on the risk. If a scooter is wrecked and the repair costs a lot, the underwriter pays. In this setup, a real insurance company still carries that risk. Ather only sells the policy and helps the customer with it, like renewals and service.

Back to the milk example. If a packet goes bad, the kirana shop helps you, but the dairy is the one that made it.

Why would a scooter maker want this?

Ather gave a clear reason in its filing. It wants to use its existing customer base to create recurring revenue and spread its income beyond its core scooter business.

Recurring revenue means money that comes again and again. Selling a scooter is a one time sale. A buyer may not buy another one for many years. But vehicle insurance is renewed every year. So every scooter on the road can bring a small, steady trickle of income.

Think of a samosa stall. Selling one samosa is nice. But if the same customer comes back every evening for chai, that is steady money. Insurance is Ather's chai.

Ather also said the move should improve the experience of its customers and retail partners. Retail partners are the dealers and showrooms that sell its scooters.

This plan started almost a year ago

This did not come out of nowhere. In December 2025, Ather told the National Stock Exchange that it would set up a separate insurance company, with a first investment of Rs 8 crore.

Back then, Ather listed what it hoped to do with it:

• Work with many insurance partners, not just one
• Make renewals simpler
• Bring in insurance products made for electric vehicles
• Improve its "attach rate" over time

Attach rate is a simple idea. Out of every 100 people who buy a scooter, how many also buy insurance through Ather? If 30 do, the attach rate is 30%. The higher it goes, the more repeat income Ather can earn.

How big is Ather's business right now?

In the year that ended in March 2026, called FY26, Ather's total income was Rs 3,823 crore, up 66% from the year before.

Ather already earns money from things other than scooters. Software plans, charging, accessories, spare parts and servicing together made up 13% of its total income in FY26. That is roughly Rs 497 crore, if you work out 13% of Rs 3,823 crore. Insurance would be one more item on this list.

But Ather still loses money. Its net loss, which is what is left after all costs are paid, was Rs 517.2 crore in FY26. That was smaller than the Rs 812.3 crore loss in FY25. So the loss shrank by Rs 295.1 crore in one year.

For a company still losing money, steady extra income can help. It is like a student who earns a little pocket money from tuitions while studying. It does not pay for everything, but it helps each month.

What we do not know yet

Ather has not shared every detail. Its filing did not name any insurance partners, give a launch date, or say how much money it expects from insurance. The licence is valid from 15 October, as long as Ather Insurance pays a yearly fee and the regulator does not suspend or cancel it.

So the real test comes later. Will buyers choose Ather's insurance over the many other options out there? That will depend on price, how easy claims are, and how simple renewals feel.

Watch: how Ather is growing

In this interview with ET Auto, Ather's Swapnil Jain talks about how the company is scaling up in India's electric vehicle market.

Watch on YouTube

The big idea

Many companies try to earn from a customer more than once. Phone makers sell covers and repair plans. Car makers sell service packages. Ather now wants to add insurance to that list.

The scooter is the first sale. The insurance, renewed every year, could be the sale that keeps coming back.

Sources

• Ather gets insurance nod, eyes income beyond scooter sales, The Times of India
• Ather Energy gets IRDAI approval for insurance distribution business, Autocar Professional
• Ather Energy ventures into auto insurance distribution, Entrackr
• How Ather Energy is scaling up for India's EV boom, ET Auto on YouTube
• Cover photo: NIU N1 smart electric scooter on a parking lot in Vienna, by Ivan Radic, CC BY 2.0