Although Zhong'an's support from the tech giants is already there, Zhong’an has to find its own way in what is a very new market. As a digital insurance company, it is difficult to develop certain traditional products because it does not own many branches offline. However, based on its hi-tech background, Zhong’an has its own advantages in other areas and is developing its business strategy around that.
Based on the accumulated data from its first three operation years, as well as its access to platforms like Alibaba, Tencent, Ping’an, etc, Zhong’an is developing a brand new model for the insurance business. Under the technology department in Zhong’an, AI, Blockchain, Cloud Service, and Big Data have attracted lots of attention. Rather than selling a single insurance policy, Zhong’an aims at a broader market behind insurance products, which is the combination of insurance, social and living activities for everyone. For example, the newly designed health insurance products allow Zhong’an to monitor policy holder’s health situation with wearable equipments and IoT technology. At the same time, the insurance app is designed to encourage users who keep good life habits and seek to improve their health. So the insurance will connect to more areas in a consumer’s life. A comparable, would be New York based Oscar Health is another insurance startup company who has similar products.
For Zhong’an, there is still more to come. In the future, Zhong’an’s plan is not building just an insurance company selling policies online, it wants to become the leader in the industry, and also a comprehensive data and technology company. It plans shareing its data recorded on its cloud services. In that case, Zhong’an can provide services to engage with other insurance companies to develop and transfer their business, or even companies from other industries who may need the services. Financial Technology has become more and more important in our lives. The giants behind Fintech are normally not big traditional financial companies in many cases. But with the expertise and efforts they put in, they are changing how financial business evolves. Zhong’an is definitely one of them.