This post, which describes recent news coming from Insurtech and Digital Insurance in China, was written by Zarc Gin from Insurview from within China.

Happy New Year to all readers of DailyFintech!

It has been a great honor for me to share InsurTech developments in China since last November. I hope my posts here help you understand what’s happening in China, so you can either learn from the experiences or even develop businesses opportunities in China.

Today I’m going to share the predictions we made about InsurTech in China in 2018. They are a combination of opinions, ideas, trend analyses and hopes we have for this brand new year.

1. More funds, More IPOs

We have seen huge amount of funds pouring into Digital Insurance in China and top startups are well funded. Because of the successful IPO of Zhong An, investors are looking for the next big name in Digital Insurance. Top startups are also aiming for IPO to catch up with Zhong An. So the fever of Digital Insurance will enter the next level with huge funds and IPOs in 2018. My forecast is that Ping An Good Doctor, a Ping An Group subsidiary, will be the first InsurTech IPO this year.

2. More Digital Health Insurance

Premium income of health insurance has been growing quickly since 2011, with 404.25 billion RMB (62.32 billion USD) income in 2016 and a 67.71% growth. Exalted Life is one of the most popular health policy from ZhongAn in 2016. PingAn also launched E-home and E-life which are well received. The competition of digital health insurance is getting more intense in 2017 with the launch of Wesure. So the competition will continue and health insurance will be even more widely received in 2018.

3. Opportunities for B2B startups

Over the past two years, B2C startups were in fashion. But the digitalization of the whole insurance industry is far from accomplished and the infrastructure of insurance is still in its early stage. Therefore, the potential for B2B startups will be big in 2018.

4. Rise of a new type of Broker

CIRC has been trying to weaken Bancassurance channels in China. This led insurers to seek the support from broker companies and the insurance intermediary industry is rising with this opportunity. Life brokers like Mingya and EverPro are growing quickly. Focusing on quality of individual brokers is their key difference from traditional broker companies. Digital broker companies like Tuniu are also growing rapidly with the help of e-commerce resources. We believe brokerage will have a new age in digital insurance and both life and property sector will grow significantly in 2018.

5. New look on auto insurance

With regulation on auto insurance tightening, the combined ratio for auto insurers are increasing. In order to reverse the situation, auto insurers need to grab the digital opportunity and develop policies from the perspective of customers. We believe digital auto insurer will explore the possibilities in the digital age and make difference to the current auto insurance.

6. Opportunity in data & information

Insurers are connected with their customers’ lives, so they will have access to all the data generated in people’s lives, such as health, habits and behaviors. Data can show insurers where the world is going, so there will be a huge opportunity in data collection and analysis.

7. Globalization

The world is getting smaller thanks to Internet, both for China and other countries. The interaction between China and the world is getting more and more frequent. Foreign InsurTech companies such as Singapore-based CXA Group are exploring Chinese markets and Chinese insurers like Fosun and CPIC also are implementing their plans around the world.

8. Talent Liquidity

Tencent, Alibaba and Baidu all entered digital insurance in 2017. They will heat up the talent liquidity in this industry. We will see an increasing combination between tech talents and insurance talents in the future.

Image Source

Zarc Gin edits Insurview, the first vertical portal for Chinese Internet Insurance.

Get fresh daily insights from an amazing team of Fintech thought leaders around the world. Ride the Fintech wave by reading us daily in your email.