Insurtech 'helps improve financial inclusion'

Credit: HelloRF

The digitalization of insurance industry has accelerated since the outbreak of COVID-19, and insurance and technology have been further integrated, which helps promote the development of inclusive finance, an industry official said in Shanghai on Thursday.

The insurance industry has been gradually shifting to identify and disperse risks from the statistical analysis of historical data to using big data modeling, said Wang Yuxiang, vice president of the Insurance Association of China, at an event held by ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance.

“The opening, sharing and flow of data inside and outside the insurance industry will become more active, and the data management and application mode will continue to innovate,” he said.

Wang believes digitalization of the insurance sector will play an important role in promoting the development of China's inclusive finance by improving service availability and reducing insurers’ operating costs.

Insurance technology helps reduce the dependence of consumers on physical service outlets, and can provide insurance offerings to farmers, small and micro enterprises, low-income groups and people living in remote and rural areas through online channels.

By adopting technologies such as big data, blockchain, artificial intelligence and cloud computing, the insurance industry can better collect and analyze massive user data and design diverse products to meet people's growing protection demand.

In addition, innovation in insurtech can reduce the operating costs of insurance institutions and help them better manage operational risks, Wang said.