ZhongAn, China’s largest online insurer, sees Ping An as an insurtech rival it can learn from

ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance, China’s first and largest online-only issuer, said it wanted to learn from its rival and early investor, Ping An Insurance Group, which has taken the lead in research and development in insurance technology.

With its scale and rapid pace of expansion, China’s insurtech market would have room for everyone, said Chen Wei, chief executive of ZhongAn Technology, the online insurer’s technology incubator.

“China’s insurtech market is so huge that no single company can gain a dominating share, ” he said in Hong Kong on Wednesday. “The Chinese market is big enough to contain both ZhongAn and Ping An.”

ZhongAn Technology was set up in November 2016 to focus on research and development (R&D) of fintech, with the aim of exporting these capabilities to the insurance industry that is being disrupted by technology.

“Financial technologies are transforming and upgrading the traditional insurance industry,” said Chen. “Ping An Insurance is a competitor that we can learn from.”

Ping An, China’ second-largest insurer that holds 10.2 per cent of ZhongAn Online, has also been aggressively expanding into the booming insurtech market. It has not only led R&D in artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and big data through its fintech subsidiary, Ping An OneConnect, but also exported the technologies to other insurers.