Cigna makes a beeline for Greater Bay Area’s growth opportunity with its online insurance partner OneDegree
- Cigna sells its insurance policies in Hong Kong through the online platform of OneDegree
- The Greater Bay Area’s combined economic output of US$1.5 trillion in 2017 may more than double to between US$3.2 trillion and US$4.1 trillion by 2030, according to an estimate by Morgan Stanley
The US company, which already sells medical insurance products in Hong Kong through OneDegree’s platform, is poised to expand into mainland China when the Greater Bay Area formally allows cross-border medical and motor insurance products.
“It is definitely very positive to see China opening up the Greater Bay Area,” said Cigna Worldwide Life Insurance Company’s chief executive Yuman Chan, in an interview with South China Morning Post. “We will be exploring the opportunities after the authorities clarifies the details of the regulation.”
Insurance has turned out to be one of the biggest winners in China’s latest attempt at economic liberalisation, especially after last week’s announcement that Hong Kong-based insurers would be allowed to develop health care and motor insurance policies for sell in the 11 cities in southern China’s Greater Bay Area.
The region refers to the Chinese government's plan to link Hong Kong and Macau with Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Foshan, Zhongshan, Dongguan, Huizhou, Jiangmen and Zhaoqing in an integrated economic and business hub.
The region, with a combined economic output of US$1.5 trillion in 2017, could more than double in size to between US$3.2 trillion and US$4.1 trillion by 2030, bigger than Britain’s economy, according to an estimate by Morgan Stanley’s chief China economist Robin Xing.