The Theme last week was about InsurTech accelerators.
The Theme this week, is about online insurance marketplace. This has been a popular sector since InsurTech Day 1. Starting with a marketplace, both incumbents and startups can build an ecosystem out of it.
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Incumbents embracing InsurTech is a common theme in our posts. This time, it’s about customer engagement.
Story 1: ZhongAn, Grab Form JV to create digital insurance marketplace in SEA
Extract, read more on Digital News Asia:
“ZHONGAN Online P&C Insurance Co, Ltd (ZhongAn or ZA Insurance), the first Internet-based insurer in China, announced on Jan 16 that its subsidiary ZhongAn Technologies International Group Limited (ZA International), and Grab Holdings Inc, Southeast Asia’s leading online-to-offline mobile platform, will establish a joint venture company (JV) to enter the digital insurance distribution business in Southeast Asia.
The JV will create a digital insurance marketplace that offers insurance products in a range of categories with fractionalised premiums, directly to users through the Grab mobile app.”
ZhongAn has delivered a great performance in 2018 with a 11.22 billion RMB (1.65 billion USD) premium income and an 88.4% growth. Now Zhong An is trying to build its influence in SEA, and an insurance marketplace built on a popular local platform with huge internet traffic is a perfect choice.
Story 2: Policygenius Adds Auto and Home Insurance to Online Marketplace
Extract, read more on Insurance Innovation Reporter:
“Policygenius, a New York-based national direct-to-consumer insurance broker, has announced that it is expanding its online insurance marketplace to offer home insurance and auto insurance with a personalized shopping experience that aims to be unique in the market.
“Our customers have repeatedly told us they love how easy we’ve made comparing and buying life and disability insurance,” comments Jennifer Fitzgerald, CEO and co-founder, Policygenius. “They wanted to know when we’d be expanding to help them with other types of insurance as well. Today, we’re happy to announce that we’ve added home and auto to our marketplace.””
Founded in 2014, Policygenius is a veteran in the online insurance marketplace sector. The offer expansion could bring its customers with a more comprehensive insurance shopping experience.
Story 3: Wellthie Launches Health Insurance Marketplace
Extract, read more on Coverager:
“Wellthie, the company that’s “modernizing the insurance shopping experience,” has launched a new health insurance marketplace for small businesses to search and compare health insurance costs and options.”
While most of the online marketplace is designed for individual consumers, Wellthie aims at small business owners. A relatively small market with less competition.
Online insurance marketplace is, in a sense, the alpha version of InsurTech. It could be as simple as e-commercialized insurance store. But behind the curtain, you also need to figure out a way to recommend policies which suit customers’ best interests. That would involve technologies and thinking in customers’ position.
Zarc Gin is an analyst for Warp Speed Fintech, a Fintech, especially InsurTech-focused Venture Capital based in China.
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