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| Hong Kong Fintech Hub Cyberport Becomes Hotbed for InsurTech Innovation |
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Widely
known for its massive fintech community of close to 400 companies,
digital technology park Cyberport is now rapidly emerging as a
powerhouse for insurance innovation.
More than 30 insurtech companies have chosen Cyberport as their home, including Hong Kong’s four licensed virtual insurance providers Bowtie, Avo Insurance, OneDegree and ZA Insure.
These have brought to the market innovative and affordable
insurance products, including voluntary health insurance policies with
competitive prices, e-wallet insurance packages, pet insurance policies,
and health insurance plans targeting specific illnesses.
Cyberport’s rising insurtech community
In addition to the four virtual insurance providers, there are
other startups providing diversified insurance technology solutions that
run through the sector’s industry chain. Among the noteworthy startups
propelling the industry’s digital transformation are CoverGo and
MediConCen.
CoverGo, a resident and an alumus of the Cyberport Incubation
Programme, told Fintech News Hong Kong that the Cyberport “has been
instrumental” in its success.
Over the last three years, Cyberport has introduced us to a number
of prospective insurance clients,” Tomas Holub, founder and CEO of
CoverGo, said.
“Cyberport has [also] given us access to a large network of
investors and fintech partners. This was very helpful in particular when
we were starting the company but even now after scaling our company and
graduating from the incubation program, we are still active in the
Cyberport community and see lots of value in the opportunities brought
by Cyberport.”
CoverGo,
an award-winning insurtech company, provides enterprise software
solutions to insurers, banks and brokers. In particular, its end-to-end
“insurance-in-a-box platform” is the first fully configurable, modular,
no-code, core insurance platform for omni-channel distribution, policy
admin and claims, that’s powered by 400+ open insurance APIs.
Recently, the startup set up the CoverGo Studio, a no-code
insurance application builder that allows companies to configure any
insurance product, any workflow and any frontend user journey, providing
flexibility and speed to market to clients.
On the business side, CoverGo has been busy onboarding new clients and expanding across Asia, Holub said.
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Kelvin
Yeung, co-founder and COO of MediConCen, told Fintech News Hong Kong
that the Cyberport Incubation Programme and its extensive community have
provided the team with helpful knowledge and learnings, and have
allowed them to meet different stakeholders in the insurtech fields.
“Cyberport’s support is especially vital in insurtech as insurance companies are often heavily regulated,” Yeung said.
“Being inside the Cyberport community has given us an entry ticket
to talk to large insurance companies and convince them that together,
we could drive positive change to the industry. In fact, some of our
clients are among the Cyberport community too and we cannot find better
place to start our journey other than Cyberport.”
Founded in 2018, MediConCen
is a young insurtech startup that uses blockchain to support insurance
companies in their medical claims process. MediConCen is building an
insurance medical network that leverages the technology to instill trust
and bring onto one platform medical experts from all over the world,
cutting out middlemen.
In less than two years after it launched, MediConCen had
successfully onboarded two insurers, now serving over 220,000
end-customers. The startup is also partnered with more than 540 medical
professionals, including medical doctors, Chinese medicine
practitioners, physiotherapists, chiropractors and dentists.
Yeung said it is currently in talks with over 13 insurers to join its network.
Another Cyberport incubatee that is making significant strides in Hong Kong’s booming insurtech landscape is Heycoins, which recently teamed up with Zurich Insurance in Hong Kong to provide sports protection micro-insurance products.
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COVID-19 pushing for digital transformation in insurance
Hong Kong’s rapid rise into a global insurtech powerhouse has been
fueled by the digitalization push that ensued the COVID-19 pandemic.
With the health crisis forcing people to maintain social
distancing, companies from all industries have resorted to remote
working.
“This is a dramatic change that brought new challenges for the
insurance industry and many companies were not prepared,” said CoverGo’s
Holub. “Traditional distribution channels were put under pressure as
they rely on face-to-face contact and wet signatures. The agent and
broker distribution collapsed as customers had to purchase insurance
from home and insurers were not ready for remote business.”
For Holub, the changes will be long-lasting and insurance
companies have no other choice than to transform to the digital world.
“There is a strong trend of moving away from rigid legacy system
and inefficient in-house development,” he said. “Companies realize more
than ever that custom IT development could be relatively slow and costly
while off-the-shelf software packages can’t satisfy changing product
requirements and customer needs.”
Echoing Holub, MediConCen’s Yeung noted a surge in demand coming
from incumbents, noting that “more insurance companies are eager to
adopt new technology to reduce manual process.”
Cyberport, which has been in operation since 2004, has grown into a
massive digital technology community of more than 1,500 companies that
includes the likes of tech giants Microsoft, Lenovo and Zhongan, but
also homegrown fintech ventures such as TNG, Gini, Kristal.ai, Quantifeed and Neat.
Focusing on promoting fintech, smart living, esports and digital
entertainment, Cyberport offers startup programs and assists
entrepreneurs in bringing their ideas to the next level.
It runs initiatives such as the Cyberport Enterprise Network, the
Cyberport Investors Network, and the Cyberport Technology Network, which
focuses on facilitating collaboration, as well as the Cyberport Macro
Fund, which invests in community startups. |
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