Insurance firm eyes different age groups

ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co Ltd, China's first digital underwriter, is seeking to cover more people of different ages on the Internet. To that end, it is running marketing campaigns by working with national celebrities and social media platforms.

The Shanghai-based insurer has invited actor Zhang Guoli to be its national experience officer because of his wide influence on the general public, ranging from the backbone generations born in the 1980s and 1990s to older Chinese as well as the emerging group born after the new millennium.

Previously targeting youngsters, ZhongAn Online said it is now seeking to get more Chinese of different age groups insured. To attract more potential users online, the company is partnering with video-sharing service Douyin.

The insurance company recorded 14.6 billion yuan (US$2.06 billion) in total gross written premiums, a year-on-year increase of 30 percent, served 486 million users and underwrote more than 8 billion policies, according to its recent annual financial report.

Among the insured customers, approximately 55 percent were under the age of 35, with insurance policies per capita of 16.5 and premiums contribution per capita of 30 yuan, the report showed.

Being committed to redefining the insurance value chain through technology, ZhongAn Online said it has served nearly 500,000 users online with its intelligent customer service robot during the COVID-19 pandemic.