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Online insurance not only offers insurance through the Internet, but also analyzes big data and applies cloud computing to innovate existing models of sales and services. Shen Qilai / Bloomberg

E-commerce giant poised for insurance foray with purchase of stake in NCI

Citing unnamed sources, Shanghai Securities News reported last week that Hangzhou-based Alibaba Group, the world's leading e-commerce company, is poised to buy shares in State-controlled New China Life Insurance (NCI) Co Ltd.

Selling the shares will be Central Huijin Investment Ltd, a State-owned investment company and the major shareholder of NCI, the report said.

"If (the report) is true, the two companies can complement each other with their own advantages once the deal is done," said Zhao Xin, senior researcher at Beijing Insurance Research Institute. "NCI can offer its channels and models in the insurance market while Alibaba can use its big data to make insurance more accurate and enhance customer experience. NCI has been developing rapidly in recent years, particularly in pension and health insurance. It can integrate with Alibaba's financial strength, online medical services, and so on."

"Mixed ownership by State and private shareholders has been proven to be most effective to enhance the efficiency of State-owned enterprises," Zhao added.

Xin Haiguang, an independent financial commentator, said: "Internet companies are reaching into financial sectors that used to be ruled by monopoly. This is why their foray into the banking business has been quite successful. However, the insurance industry is the most open and competitive sector in the Chinese mainland's financial industry. The reward is not going to be instantly realized for newcomers in this industry."

Zhong An Insurance, jointly founded by rival Internet giants Alibaba and Tencent Holdings, and major insurer Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China Ltd, became the first Internet insurance company in the world when it was launched in November 2013, after being granted an operating license by the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC). Alibaba is the biggest shareholder of Zhong An with a 19.9-percent stake.

"Internet insurance, even though the concept is new and fancy in the insurance industry, should emphasize on 'Internet' rather than specific products," Xin said. "However, Zhong An's insurance programs cover three areas - the e-commerce trade, Internet payments and Internet WMPs (wealth-management products), which can all actually be covered by traditional insurers."

Alibaba has been very active in engaging in insurance by collaborating with established players in the field. Taobao.com, the e-commerce platform owned by Alibaba, offers some insurance products of its own.

For instance, there is one insurance plan sold to buyers for safe transportation of returned packages, under collaboration between the online platforms of Taobao and Taikang Life Insurance. The insurance costs only 0.5 yuan ($0.08) but generates premium of more than 1 million yuan every day.

During the Mid-Autumn Festival in 2013, Taobao Insurance offered a "moon insurance" together with Allianz China General Insurance Company Ltd, which cost 20 yuan or 99 yuan, depending on the city and offered proportionate compensation of up to 50 yuan or 188 yuan if the buyer was unable to see the moon on the day of the festival because of clouds.

"The integration of insurance and the Internet will bring about many changes," said Li Chunliang, deputy director of the statistics and information department at the CIRC.

"Traditional insurance relies heavily on large teams of account managers, which is costly, inefficient and sometimes annoying to customers. With the Internet's big data, insurers can more accurately target customers. Moreover, as wearable health devices and mobile GPS (global positioning system) become more widely used, insurers can even predict risks and issue warnings to customers," he said.

"Data technologies will expand the areas that can be covered by insurance. The risks will be further segmented, risk evaluation and price setting will be more specific. Insurance products will be increasingly diversified and individualized," Li added.

In 2014, Internet insurance on the Chinese mainland registered revenue of 87 billion yuan, surging by 147 percent from the previous year. By the end of 2014, the number of Internet insurers stood at 90, growing from 76 in 2013.

CIRC Vice-President Zhou Yanli said Internet insurance does not simply mean that people can buy insurance online. More importantly, it uses the big data and cloud computing to innovate on existing models of sales and services. In this sense, Internet insurers are more data analyzers than insurance providers.

On the Chinese mainland, one needs to get a license from the CIRC in order to establish an insurance company. "For Internet companies, buying shares in an existing insurance company is a good way to expand into the insurance sector," said Luo Yi, chief analyzer at Huatai Securities Co Ltd.

yangziman@chinadaily.com.cn

(HK Edition 01/28/2015 page9)