China Securities Network (reporter Gao Gaifang): Weather Technology (Beijing) Co., Ltd. ("Weather Technology") recently announced that it will work with Yian Insurance Company, Huize.com, and Huayi Insurance Agency to jointly launch a weather index insurance DIY service.
Li Chang, founder and CEO of Weather Technology, explained that weather itself is a risk, and insurance is one of the most common tools for avoiding risk. Weather index insurance uses one or more meteorological elements as trigger conditions—for example, rainfall reaching the moderate-rain level. Once the trigger condition is met, regardless of whether the insured has actually suffered a disaster, the insurance company will pay insurance proceeds to the policyholder based on the meteorological element index.
At present, China's weather insurance products are few in number, insufficiently personalized, and not customizable. By combining meteorological science with financial technology, Weather Technology has jointly innovated with Yian, Huize, and Huayi in the insurance field to launch a C2B insurance model, achieving the capability for personalized customization of weather insurance.
The weather insurance DIY platform releases the right to produce weather index insurance products to the user side. Users can simply and quickly customize a personalized weather index insurance product according to the scenarios they actually face. The platform calculates premiums and sums insured in real time based on the weather risks behind the weather index levels set by the user, and the partner insurance companies are responsible for underwriting. After purchase, once the weather index reaches the threshold initially set during the user's customization of the insurance product, the insurance company will settle claims quickly.
Regarding this multi-party cooperation, Cao Haijing, General Manager of Yian Insurance, believes that the weather insurance DIY capability provided by Weather Technology has greatly mobilized users' enthusiasm for purchasing insurance and changed the traditional "B2C model" of conventional insurance products. Yian Insurance will use financial technology to achieve rapid underwriting and rapid claims payment, allowing users to deeply experience the fast and efficient characteristics of internet insurance. Huize.com, as China's largest one-stop internet insurance service platform, will also gradually extend Weather Technology's capabilities to the 20 million users it has accumulated over the years. Huayi Insurance Agency will give full play to its own technological advantages, serving as the connecting bridge between Weather Technology and insurance companies and helping insurance companies engage in weather risk management.
Source: China Securities Journal - China Securities Network 2016-12-09