Insurance platform Huize records US$83.8m in gross written premiums

Online insurance product and service platform Huize Holding Ltd has announced that total gross written premiums (GWP) facilitated on its platform increased by 40.6 percent to 597.9 million yuan (US$83.8 million) in the first quarter.

GWP of long-term life and health insurance products accounted for approximately 93.8 percent of total GWP facilitated, compared to 86.0 percent in the first three months of 2019.

Due to a decline in brokerage income, Huize saw its total operating revenue in the January-to-March period decrease by 1.1 percent to 248.7 million yuan compared with the same period a year ago.

The Nasdaq-listed company expects its operating revenue for the second quarter of 2020 to be in the range of 210 million yuan to 230 million yuan.

As of March 31, the number of insured clients on the Shenzhen-headquartered platform jumped to around 53.6 million.

During the quarter, Huize said it launched a COVID-19 Zone on its website, mobile app, and other social media channels to provide its customers with real-time pandemic situation information and related query tools.

At the same time, its online claim service enabled users to submit and process their insurance claims safely without physical contact.

“Going forward, we remain optimistic about the development prospects for the entire insurance industry in China over the long term,” said Ma Cunjun, founder, chairman and chief executive officer of Huize.

He believes that this health crisis has accelerated the offline-to-online transition in consumer behavior and has further stimulated people’s health-care and insurance awareness.

“This is similar to the impact of the SARS outbreak in 2003, and we therefore expect health insurance demand to increase in China following the pandemic,” Ma noted.

Huize engages in the provision of insurance brokerage services through online platforms, including suitable product recommendations, consulting services, intelligent underwriting and assistance in claim applications and settlements.

It distributes insurance products underwritten by insurer partners, and helps them to reach a large number of insurance clients.

The company went public and commenced trading on the Nasdaq Global Market in February.