CareVoice, China’s TripAdvisor-style health insurance start-up, launches in Hong Kong as it eyes Asian expansion

A start-up that was the first to allow people in China to review and rate hospitals, clinics and doctors – a medical equivalent of TripAdvisor – launched its services in Hong Kong on Thursday.

Shanghai-based CareVoice, which now provides a range of digital services in the insurance technology sector, sees the move as the first stage of a broader Asian expansion plan.

The company started in 2014 as a mobile app for people to review and evaluate health-care services before moving into “insurtech”. Now it also provides tailored software for partnered insurance companies to allow their customers to digitally find services, make insurance claims and track their health.

Its Hong Kong launch marks the first step in a wider Asian expansion and comes after several months of preparation, according to Sebastien Gaudin, chief executive officer and co-founder of CareVoice. In the latter half of 2019 they plan to expand into Malaysia, Thailand and Indonesia.

“Hong Kong is exciting as it is outside the Chinese mainland, but also it is a mature health insurance market,” said Gaudin. “If we can succeed in Hong Kong, we can succeed in any other major market.”

In mainland China, CareVoice’s five major insurance clients include Chubb, AXA Tianping Partners and Ping An Insurance, with a third of its half a million users coming from insurance contracts.

In Hong Kong, the company has secured two “leading insurer clients” to be contracted before the end of 2019. Five others are at an advanced stage of negotiations, through a partnership with service provider Inter-Partner Assistance, said Gaudin, without disclosing who they are.