New mobile policy? WeChat insurance app rolls out

Chinese insurance companies are looking to mobile social apps as a new means for business expansion.

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Apart from teaming up with the country's largest online site Taobao Marketplace, some insurers are embracing mobile chat app WeChat as a way to capture customer attention.

Beijing-based Taikang Life Insurance Co Ltd has rolled out a beta-version health policy via WeChat, whose user base totaled 600 million by the end of 2013.

Via bank card transaction or WeChat's embedded payment function, customers can pay one yuan ($0.16) for insurance coverage worth 1,000 yuan should they be diagnosed with cancer.

Customers can even "ask for donations" by posting the policy on "Friend Circle", an integrated function enabling WeChat users to share insights and photos in a personal network.

Donating a one yuan premium can add up to 1,000 yuan in insurance coverage for people aged 18 to 39, and 300 yuan for those 40 to 49 years old.

The ceiling for coverage is capped at 100,000 yuan.

Marketers of the WeChat-only product are clamoring to engage the app's vast number of active users, Ding Junfeng, vice-general manager of Taikang Life's innovation business unit, told a media briefing on Tuesday.

"We aim to make people understand the mutual-assistance feature of insurance. The Internet is an influential force reshaping the industry and pushing us to stay ahead of the curve," Ding said.

Online insurance is hardly a novelty in China. Taobao has become a major avenue for insurers to tap a growing number of netizens who are usually more intrigued by innovative and personalized promotions than the old-fashioned hard sell.

For instance, Taobao and German insurer Allianz unveiled a "full-moon" insurance policy that pledged to compensate policyholders if they were unable to enjoy full-moon gazing during China's Mid-Autumn Festival.

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