Digital Insurance in China
Editorial by Hugh Terry
Welcome to the launch edition of the China in Focus newsletter, a partnership between The Digital Insurer and Swiss Re to provide regular insight and analysis into the rapidly developing digital insurance ecosystem in China.
Each month we will take an in-depth look at an emerging innovation in the Chinese market, through case studies, research, thought leadership, news and analysis.
The Chinese insurance market is currently experiencing huge growth and has already doubled in size over the last six years. Within that the InsurTech sector is expanding rapidly and is forecast to be worth more than 1 trillion yuan by 2020.
This month we review how China is becoming a leader in digital insurance, and look at recent exciting initiatives being born out of the country’s insurers.
And Swiss Re’s Dr Lizzy Lubczanski delves deeper into the relationship between insurers, mobile consumers and wearable technology. Is there a clear long-term benefit to developing wearables for life and health insurers in China and can the idea of the ‘quantified self’ ultimately boost engagement and change behaviours?
Aligning with our belief and approach that digital insurance is a global endeavour, with much to be learnt from the mutual sharing of initiatives and lessons learnt, China In Focus will also be published in Mandarin each month and shared on The Digital Insurer WeChat channel. We will be announcing a further collaboration soon that will allow even more of our content to be translated into Mandarin.
Finally, we are very pleased to be able to extend our collaboration with Swiss Re, which has been a been a strong supporter of digital insurance, to the China in Focus newsletter. As always please give us your feedback and let us know how we can improve in any areas.
Yours digitally,
Hugh Terry
The Digital Insurer
China InsurTech Review
China is increasingly becoming viewed as a leader in digital insurance. Our review of some of China's recent digital insurance initiatives demonstrates the variety of business models being pursued by Chinese insurers.
Wearable Technology in China – Can it work?
Learnings from behavioural research point to ways in which wearable technology can be designed to influence individuals’ automatic decision making processes.
Spotlight Articles
Interview: Frank Desvignes, AXA Lab
In conversation with Axa Lab Asia founder Frank Desvignes, and how he views the Chinese InsurTech landscape.
China's InsurTech incubators
As the number of Chinese InsurTech accelerators continues to grows, we take a look at the emerging innovations.
Infographic: China InsurTech
Key stats on the Chinese platforms through which tomorrow's digital winners will be determined.
Latest News
The CareVoice – Chinese mobile platform bringing trusted ratings and recommendations on top quality healthcare services
The CareVoice is a Shanghai based independent health platform that provides ratings and recommendations on medical providers.
Zhongtuobao – Shanghai based community insurance App
Zhongtuobao is a Shanghai based community insurance app that provides a mutual life insurance product backed by a traditional underwriter.
Metromile Launches Per-Mile Car Insurance, USA
Metromile has developed a telematics device that plugs into the diagnostic port of a car's dashboard. The device, or Metronome, provides engine data plus driving behaviour insights that is ultimately used to offer a car insurance on a pay per mile basis. This, in addition to a recent investment from China's CPIC is setting up Metromile for a China entrance.
Haven Life – Online Life Insurance Innovation
Haven Life is a rare example of intrapreneurship within the life insurance industry. Owned by US based MassMutual, Haven Life offers term life insurance entirely online and is aiming to address the shifting insurance needs of the millennial world by tightly integrating term life insurance into digital channels.
Swiss Re – Aligning for the Digital Future
Sensing the need to foster a flexible, agile and highly collaborative environment that embraces diverse work styles, Swiss Re is reimagining its corporate culture in order to capitalise on digital opportunity.