At present, the internet insurance industry is beginning to “speed up.” Data released by the Insurance Association of China shows that in the first half of 2016, the internet insurance market developed rapidly, with cumulative premium income of RMB 143.11 billion, 1.75 times that of the same period last year, close to the full-year premium level of internet life insurance in 2015, and its share of the industry's total premiums rose to 5.2%, further enhancing its position among all channel businesses. According to Bain & Company's forecast, over the next 3–5 years, 82% of consumers in China will purchase insurance via the internet, indicating broad room for the development of internet insurance.
In the internet insurance market, leveraging the natural advantages of the JD ecosystem, JD Finance's insurance services currently serve more than 100 million consumers, with a merchant renewal rate exceeding 67%, cementing its position as the industry leader. It has extended consumption scenarios and proposed the “JD Quality” initiative.
Since the beginning of this year, JD Finance Insurance has placed greater emphasis on consumer attention and expanded protection for more consumer rights. Relying on e-commerce consumption scenarios, JD Finance's insurance business proposed a comprehensive shopping quality improvement initiative—the “JD Quality” initiative—joining with high-quality insurance companies in the industry to tailor coverage for JD users, including protection for 3C and home appliance products, addressing after-sales protection issues that traditional methods have difficulty covering.
Considering the issues users may encounter in transactions on JD.com—such as returns, logistics damage, and product quality problems—various innovative insurance products offered by JD Finance Insurance came into being. For example, in response to the pain point that consumers' mobile phones are prone to screen breakage, JD Finance Insurance timely launched “Screen Breakage Replacement Insurance.” In addition, breaking from the conventional manufacturer warranty model, JD Finance Insurance launched insurance services such as “Extended Warranty Insurance,” “Accident Insurance,” and “30180” (30-day return and 180-day replacement), effectively solving consumers' repair and replacement problems for valuables such as mobile phones, cameras, and home appliances.
At present, the shopping quality improvement initiative launched by JD Finance Insurance covers nearly 100,000 products, and since its launch, orders for 3C and home appliances have grown significantly.
It is worth mentioning that during this year's “Double 11” shopping festival, JD Finance took the lead in launching “Turtle-Speed Delivery Insurance,” aiming to solve consumers' post-purchase delivery problems and promote the concepts of an improved e-commerce logistics experience and rational consumption. According to statistics, during Double 11, more than 3 million users claimed “Turtle-Speed Delivery Insurance,” making it a major innovation in reshaping the user consumption experience.
Technology-Driven Innovation: Building a Comprehensive Platform
At the fintech level, JD Finance Insurance relies on the company's overall technological capabilities and continuously seeks cooperation with other platforms to develop innovative products with internet attributes, leveraging the resources and brand advantages of both parties to provide protection services to more precisely targeted groups. For example, JD Finance joined with Dajie.com to launch “Job Hunting Insurance,” providing insurance services for the “accidents” that college students encounter during the job-hunting process.
In addition, by combining JD Finance's big data capabilities with the actuarial resources of traditional insurance companies, the two sides have jointly developed many insurance products that better fit user needs. Among them, JD Baitiao was combined with traditional auto insurance to launch an “installment auto insurance” product, providing installment-based, interest-free auto insurance services; JD Finance also cooperated with innovative internet automobile companies and service institutions to build a “car services platform,” and worked with NavInfo to launch “Internet of Vehicles” big data financial services, rolling out new auto insurance features.
The JD Finance Insurance platform has always regarded caring for life and health and providing consumers with comprehensive protection as a long-term mission. At present, the platform has launched health insurance products for women, the elderly, infants, and young children; accident insurance products for transportation, outdoor activities, and sports; travel insurance products for domestic, overseas, and Schengen travel; and critical illness insurance products such as “Filial Piety Insurance” and the “1+1 Refund Type.” At the same time, it has launched products such as “annuity insurance,” providing users with more functional and practical health insurance.
A person in charge of JD Finance's insurance business said, “JD Finance Insurance insists on designing innovative, tailored protection experiences for users based on different scenarios and differentiated niche products, building a comprehensive insurance service platform.” Based on the precision and dynamism of big data and the risk management system built on it, JD Finance Insurance will fully export its fintech capabilities, integrate with more application scenarios, and give users more protection and richer experiences.
Source: Shanghai Financial News January 10, 2017