Sources report that Chinese online property and casualty insurance company Zhong An is planning for an initial public offering (IPO) in China; the firm was founded by Alibaba's Jack Ma, Tencent's Pony Ma and Ma Mingzhe from Ping An Insurance Group of China; a primary product for the firm is e-commerce shipping insurance which accounts for approximately 50% of the business; currently the firm's major shareholders include Ant Financial with 16% and Tencent Holdings Ltd. with 12%; in 2015 it reported a valuation of $8 billion and it currently plans to raise an additional 2 billion yuan ($290 million) to help it prepare for the IPO. Source
ZhongAn Insurance, China’s first internet-only insurer, raised $1.5 billion in its IPO; ZhongAn priced its 199.3 million new shares at HK$59.70 ($7.65) each, the top of a HK$53.70-HK$59.70 range; the IPO is the world’s first “insurtech” public offering. Source
Provides details on announcements from both companies and compares the offerings; PolicyGenius has entered the rental insurance market, launching its rental insurance product this week; also this week Lemonade announced expansion of its rental and homeowners insurance to New Jersey. Source
Two of Europe's largest incumbent insurance companies, Munich Re and Allianz SE, have begun investing in insurance startups; the deals show that insurance giants are beginning to see how technology is affecting their industry and they want to get in early; currently the focus has been on small investments into many companies; the startups focus on different areas of the market like insuring mobile phones or small electronics; similar to banks, it is worth keeping an eye on how insurance companies handle disruption and innovation. Source
Artificial intelligence innovation is an important focus for many companies in 2017. Fukoku Mutual Life Insurance Company has taken a lead in the insurance market with its announcement to replace 34 workers in its payment assessment department with an IBM Watson artificial intelligence solution. The firm says the Watson system will improve productivity and save approximately 140 million yen ($1.21 million) per year. This is one of the first times we've seen a public announcement of how employees have been replaced as a direct result of artificial intelligence. Source
Leading Chinese insurtech firm, ZhongAn, has announced the addition of a new fintech incubator; ZhongAn Information and Technology Services Co., Ltd. will be focused on technology development in the following four areas: artificial intelligence, blockchain, cloud computing and data; seeks to be a technology accelerator for insurtech. Source
Coverager provides insight on the insurtech investment market with a list of 11 insurtech deals announced in January; Practo in India tops the list with a $55 million investment; firm provides a platform for patients to book appointments and also offers a software as a service solution for doctors. Source
CB Insights reports on two of Europe's top markets for fintech investment, the UK and Germany; the UK is reporting significant early-stage investment in personal banking platforms and insurtech with insurtech also a top investment in Germany; year-to-date, European fintech companies have raised approximately $2.6 billion with early stage fintech financing in the UK at $202 million and Germany reporting financing of $83 million. Source
Facebook's data and privacy rules have slowed business development plans for insurtech firm, Admiral; many fintech firms have sought to use social media profiles in crowdfunding with little success for various reasons; insurtech firm, Admiral, will now be forced to end its plans to use Facebook social media posts and likes for consideration in auto insurance underwriting; Facebook says use of the information is a violation of its data privacy rules. Source
James Blackham, former managing director and head of digital structuring at Goldman Sachs, is now leading a new insurtech startup; his firm, Just Miles, is focusing on personalized car insurance offerings; the firm has received venture capitalist funding and is developing its data analytics; at Just Miles, Blackham says he is taking the big data and analytics skills learned from his experience at Goldman Sachs and applying them to car insurance with the goal of providing an innovative car insurance solution for consumers. Source