[2020 Financial Weather Forecast] Insurance Spreading Wings on Digital Platforms... Find the Product That Suits You

Arrival of the InsurTech Era
Innovative New Financial Market...Easy Enrollment and Diverse Products
Focus on Lifestyle Areas like Travel, Leisure, and Pets
Kakao and Naver Also Offering Services...Expanding Choices

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] The insurance industry in the Year of the Rat is eagerly awaiting the arrival of the savior called 'InsurTech.' It is seen as a new opportunity to overcome the ongoing poor performance and to open up new markets. Not only will it make signing up easier and faster, but it also heralds the emergence of insurance products that have never existed before.

The Financial Services Commission designated a total of 77 innovative financial services through 10 rounds of the financial regulatory sandbox introduced under the Financial Innovation Support Special Act as of December. Among these, innovative services in the insurance sector include NH Nonghyup Property & Casualty Insurance's 'On-Off Overseas Traveler Insurance,' Rainist's 'Simple Insurance Enrollment Process,' and Smallticket's 'Reward-type Community Platform Service for Pet Insurance.' These services share the common feature of enhancing convenience for insurance consumers based on InsurTech.

InsurTech, a compound of 'Insurance' and 'Technology,' is bringing various changes to the insurance industry. The Korea Insurance Research Institute predicted that InsurTech will strengthen the connectivity between insurers and consumers and enable the development of new types of products. It also forecasted that data-driven decision-making in underwriting and claims review will take place, leading to the birth of unprecedented new business models.

A representative example is the 'Switch (on-off) type Overseas Traveler Insurance' introduced by Nonghyup P&C Insurance and Rainist, which received great consumer response last year. Nonghyup P&C Insurance launched the industry's first 'Mobile Insurance Gift Certificate' that can be easily purchased at online shopping malls.

After selecting a direct-only insurance product on a mobile app or web, consumers can purchase it at an online shopping mall or enter a gift certificate number received as a gift to pay for the insurance product. Four fixed-rate types can be purchased at a 10% discount on Gmarket, Auction, and NH Members Point Mall. Products available for subscription with the insurance gift certificate include on-off overseas travel insurance, domestic traveler insurance, and home fire insurance, which are useful in daily life.

Major IT companies are also rushing into the insurance industry based on their technological capabilities, launching insurance services that increase intimacy with consumers. Kakao declared its entry into the insurance market by acquiring management rights of the insurance startup 'Inbyu' through its subsidiary 'Kakao Pay,' combining expertise in lifestyle financial platforms and experience in crowd insurance platforms. Alongside this, it is promoting the establishment of a digital property and casualty insurer in partnership with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance, the nation's top non-life insurer.

Naver also spun off Naver Pay and established Naver Financial, announcing plans to sequentially launch financial services including simple payments, loans, insurance, and investments. With nearly 10 million users secured as potential insurance customers, it is expected to change the insurance industry landscape.

Insurance companies are also introducing new insurance products through digital insurers. Carrot General Insurance, a digital insurer established by Hanwha General Insurance, is reviewing leisure insurance that covers accidents during leisure activities such as fishing, skiing, and hiking, as well as online shopping return insurance.

KyoBo Lifeplanet Life Insurance, the nation's first internet-only life insurer, is selling simple insurance products such as pension savings insurance, cancer insurance, and savings insurance in collaboration with Kakao Pay, and plans to expand sales of customer-oriented long-term insurance and lifestyle-related insurance products in the future.