ZhongAn and Grab clutch at SE Asia’s digital insurance market
Chinese Internet-based insurer ZhongAn has created a joint venture (JV) with mobile platform Grab to enter the digital insurance distribution business in Southeast Asia.
Wants to become the “everyday superapp in the region”
Via its subsidiary ZhongAn Technologies International Group Limited (ZA International), the JV will offer insurance products in a range of categories directly to users through the Grab mobile app.
Ming Maa, president of Grab, says: “The launch of our insurance platform is part of our commitment to becoming the leading everyday superapp in the region.”
He states that the Singapore-based company has over 130 million downloads in Southeast Asia and a presence across 336 cities.
Wayne Xu, vice-general manager of ZhongAn, in charge of International business, adds: “We have joined hands with over 300 Internet ecosystem partners and exported our technology solutions, with a shared aim to build an insurance ecosystem centered on ZhongAn.”
As part of the agreement, ZA International will bring technical assets to build the platform and insight into Internet ecosystems to the JV. As mentioned above, Grab will launch the platform through its app.
The platform will be unleashed in Singapore in the first half of 2019, before being rolled out in other markets.
The tie-up will address the “usual pain points of insurance discovery”, unaffordable premiums and payment options by allowing for insurance premium payments to be adjusted and automatically deducted through GrabPay or its affiliate payment partners.
To start, in conjunction with Chubb, Grab will offer a drivers’ insurance product to its driver-partners in Singapore to protect them from loss of income owing to illness or accident.
Last year, Grab says it expanded beyond its core transport offering to provide users with food delivery, parcel delivery, grocery delivery, and financial services. This year, Grab will expand into cross-border remittance and online healthcare.
