HONG KONG, Aug. 26, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- ZhongAn Online P & C Insurance Co. Ltd. ("ZhongAn Online" or "ZhongAn" or the "Company", HKEx: 6060), a leading online InsureTech company in China, today announced its unaudited interim results for the six months ended 30 June 2021 (the "Period').
Adhering to mission of "Empowering the finance business with technologies and providing insurance services with a caring hand", ZhongAn Online leverages its proprietary technology and ecosystem integration advantages to provide all-around ecosystem-oriented services to customer and to promote insurance inclusion continuously.
In the first half of 2021, the Company recorded gross written premiums of approximately RMB 9,841 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 45%. Revenue from technology segment increased by 122% to RMB 266 million. Benefiting from the Company's long-term commitment to "sustainable quality growth" and effective tech-driven cost control, the combined ratio improved by 4.1 percentage points to 99.4% in the first half of 2021. During the Period, net profit attributable to owners of the parent amounted to RMB 755 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 54% and achieved underwriting profitability for the first time.
The Company adheres to the philosophy of "Technology for Social Good" and actively fulfills corporate social responsibilities and practices public welfare. In the first half of 2021, the Company launched series of inclusive insurance with simplified and customized terms and value-added services to the unserved populations with real protection needs. During the pandemic and Henan floods, ZhongAn Online launched seven emergency plans to practice philanthropy. The Company also actively embraced the concept of "Green Finance" though online operations and paperless office, contributing to low-carbon and environmental protection.
Accelerated exploration of new scenarios and continuous iteration of product mix in the health ecosystem to facilitate the construction of Healthy China
During the Period, ZhongAn Online brought the internet-based "insurance + medical care + medicine" closed-loop strategy to the next level. By fully leveraging the advantageous role as a payer in the health ecosystem and proactively connecting with more ecosystem partners including pharmaceutical companies, medical device companies, and optional medical companies, the Company endeavored to provide better services to a wider customer base and to increase users' lifetime value.
In the first half of 2021, the health ecosystem recorded a total GWP of RMB 3,926 million, representing a year-on-year increase of 29%. The number of paying users increased by 10% to 9.1 million, and premium per paying users increased by 17% to RMB 430.
Adhering to the commitment of "providing national medical insurance for over 100 million people", ZhongAn Online enriched product matrix, actively participated in the government-endorsed "HuiMinBao" project, and make every effort to promote inclusive insurance with affordable protection for different demographics. As the medical scenarios became more diversified, health ecosystem service and product offerings extended along the value chain from required medical scenarios such as inpatient and critical illness, to the daily needs of the outpatient and emergency, chronic disease management, health management, rehabilitation management, and optional medical. The Company is committed to refined operation in every process from consultation to post-operative care, to better serve the users' entire life cycle to improve the overall health status.
The Company are closely deploying digital medical scenarios through internet hospital services. By fully integrating internet hospital services into more medical insurance products, ZhongAn Online now provides 24/7 online video medical advice, electronic prescription and e-pharmacy services through its in-house and external teams of doctors.
Innovative products serve the diversified digital life of users and drive the rapid growth of the digital lifestyle ecosystem
ZhongAn Online tap the incremental market by continuous innovation of new product verticals. This year, the Company continues to iteratively upgrade product offerings and services in the digital lifestyle ecosystem, GWP from digital lifestyle ecosystem increased by 52% to RMB 3,345 million.
The company complies with the decentralization trend of the e-commerce ecosystem, merges mature insurance products such as shipping return policies into more distribution channels and new consumption scenarios. ZhongAn Online launched innovative products such as phone screen crack insurance, pet insurance, family property insurance and accident insurance, and recorded breakthroughs within the Period. GWP from innovative business grew by over 130% year-on-year, contributing nearly 20% in the digital lifestyle ecosystem and fully penetrated to digital lifestyle scenarios of users.
Building brand and proprietary platforms under a customer-centric approach to deepen cross-selling effect
ZhongAn Online has been focused on optimizing the cross-selling effect across ecosystems and delivering refined operations under a customer-centric approach. In the first half of 2021, the GWP generated through proprietary platforms grew by 48% year-over-year to RMB 1.55 billion, contributing 16% of the Company's total GWP. The number of paying users reached 3.81 million in the first half of 2021, clocking in roughly 20% year-over-year growth from 3.18 million of the same period last year. The per capita premium from users of proprietary platforms grew from RMB 330 in same period last year to RMB 406 in the first half of 2021, representing a 23% increase year-over-year.
Through omnichannel marketing strategy, the number of followers on mainstream short video sites has exceeded 10 million. ZhongAn closely follows the latest cultural trends such as Guochao and Hip-Hop among Millennials and Gen Z. By integrating brand building with its cultural insights, the Company has successfully deepened its customer interface and seen higher level of activity among users. The accumulated views of its user-generated content (UGC) across all platforms hit approximately 820 million, and the brand received a total of roughly 16 billion page views in the first half of 2021, demonstrating the value of the Company's brand building efforts.
Prospering technology segment generating significant value
In the first half of 2021, ZhongAn recorded revenue from technology segment of RMB 266.3 million, representing a year-over-year increase of 122%. The Company continues to focus on the InsureTech sector, offering technology solutions powered by its advanced InsureTech experience and technology strengths to both domestic and overseas insurance companies and Internet platforms. ZhongAn has built a complete product mix that can empower the digital transformation of the insurance industry. The product mix fully covers clients' needs in production, user growth and tech infrastructure development. With such strong product offering and efforts on overlay sales, ZhongAn has successfully mapped these dynamics so as to optimize the lifetime value of its customers. The recurring revenue in technology segment for the first half in 2021 as a percentage of total tech revenue has reached 48%.
In response to regulatory policies, ZhongAn was the first company in the industry to roll out a visual backtracking product in 2020. As of now the product has been offered to 48 clients. This year the Company continues to explore potential market opportunities in RegTech and has launched products related to regulatory data reporting, helping foster sustainable and complied development of the industry.
ZhongAn positions itself not only as a cutting-edge technology service provider, but also a trusted business partner that offers its leading business models to both domestic and international insurance companies. The Company has made continuous strides in technology segment in overseas markets. In the first half of 2021, ZhongAn has further expanded geographically, covering more countries in Southeastern Asia, serving leading local property insurers, life insurers and Internet insurance platforms. This year the Company has tapped into European InsureTech market and has completed its first customer's product launch.
ZA Bank and ZA Insure work together to build a one-stop shop providing a full set of financial service in Hong Kong and practice the concept of inclusive finance
The Company's virtual bank, ZA Bank and the fully digital insurance company, ZA Insure are committed to creating a brand new and accessible digital financial experience for customers in Hong Kong, carrying out the concept of inclusive finance.
As the first licensed virtual bank to open its digital doors in Hong Kong, ZA Bank has maintained the leading position in both customer base and scale of business among virtual banks in Hong Kong. As of 30 June 2021, ZA Bank's deposits doubled to HKD 7.6 billion and loans grew 20 times to HKD 1.3 billion. As of mid-July 2021, the number of ZA Bank users had exceeded 400,000.
ZA Insure upholds its mission to provide insurance to customers and dedicates to providing insurance products that everyone can afford through internet platforms for residents 24/7. The Company hopes to apply its fintech capabilities and insights into customers in Hong Kong's mature financial market to deliver refined user experiences and help carry out the concept of inclusive finance.
As the only technology company in Hong Kong that has both a virtual bank license and a digital insurance license, ZhongAn has realized the first in-depth cooperation between a virtual bank and a fully digital insurer. In May 2021, ZA Bank officially partnered with ZA Insure, aiming to create a fast and smooth insurance experience on the bank's App. Meanwhile, relying on its own digital development framework, ZhongAn has launched ZA One, a one-stop shop that provides customers with diversified investment services such as IPO GO, covering customers' diversified financial needs. With cost advantages and sharing of technical strength, the synergistic effect between ZA Bank and ZA Insure will continue and the two entities will work together to create more value for enhanced user experience in digital wealth management in the future.
Outlook
ZhongAn will continue to adhere to its two-winged strategy of "Insurance + Technology", its belief "Tech for good" and its pursuit of "quality growth". The Company will uphold its mission of "empowering the finance business with technologies and providing insurance services with a caring hand" and drive product innovations with technology capabilities. The Company expects to foster development in building its brand and proprietary platforms. ZhongAn aims to provide ecosystem-oriented insurance solutions to further promote the concept of inclusive insurance. The company will also closely follow the regulations and development plans, help foster digital transformation of insurance industry and build a Healthy China with its cutting-edge technological capabilities and proven business models.
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About ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co Ltd (Stock Code:6060.HK)
ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co., Ltd. ("ZA Online" or "the Company") is a leading online-only InsureTech company in China. Founded in October 2013, the Company adopts an ecosystem-oriented approach and focuses on customers' lives on the Internet, meeting customers' diversified protection needs and creating value for them through ecosystem partners and its proprietary platform. ZA Online seamlessly integrates technology across its insurance business, and now exports its technology to help other companies accelerate their growth. On 28 September 2017, ZA Online became the first Fintech company listed on the HKEx (Ticker: 6060) and since 2018, the Company started expanding its Fintech and InsureTech solutions to various international markets.
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