Digital trends in life and health insurance
Editorial by Hugh Terry
In this edition of China in Focus, in partnership with iptiQ by Swiss Re, we ask what are the main digital trends driving global, and in particular Chinese, digital life & health insurance innovation?
It’s been ten-years since the influential Life Insurance in Asia: Sustaining Growth in the Next Decade was published. In it, the authors laid out their vision for what would shape the life & health insurance industry over the coming decade. A lot has changed since 2012, and we look back on the book’s predictions as a way to shape our view on the direction of the Chinese insurance industry, which we can now see is in a transitional phase due to the twin forces of increased regulatory scrutiny and the isolation wrought by Covid restrictions.
- Our in-depth article looks back on Life Insurance in Asia: Sustaining Growth in the Next Decade and considers the future of life & health insurance in China in light of:
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- The proliferation of mobile devices and big data that opens up new distribution channels
- Mass market growth being replaced by product development for market segments
- Chinese consumers that increasingly view life insurance as a protection tool as opposed to a savings tool
- In our second article we look more widely at macro global trends across society that are shaping the way consumers interact with healthcare and health insurance. It is now clear that the pandemic has transformed society both at home and in the workplace. As we find, though the long term implications have yet to be assessed, the pandemic has had an influence on the mindset of society that is perhaps greater than at any time since the industrial revolution.
- And finally, in InsurTech analysis, this month we compare Ping An Good Doctor, JD Health, and AliHealth, three Chinese health companies that at face value appear similar, but which have notable differences that set them apart from each other.
As always, enjoy the edition!
In-depth: What does the next decade holds for Asia's life & health insurers?
We look back at the digital trends in the Chinese market over the last decade, to give a better insight on what the future holds for Asia's life & health insurers.
Global trends in digital health insurance: Driving better health outcomes for an ageing world
We look at how technology and COVID-19 have changed people's relationship to time and the workplace, as well as how they interact with healthcare and health insurance.
InsurTech Analysis: Ping An Good Doctor vs JD Health vs AliHealth
Three Chinese digital health companies compared by services offered, resources, user base, consultation numbers, collaborations, and financials.