Internet-based insurer to undergo upgrade

ZhongAn Insurance, the first internet-based insurer in China, will upgrade its middle-end medical insurance services to cater to older clients, aiming to build up its brand as a nationwide insurer, according to the company's top management.

"With the application of advanced technologies, we hope to ensure each client has access to our customized medical insurance services when suffering from disease," said Liu Haijiao, managing director of ZhongAn Life Sciences.

The company will upgrade its middle-end medical insurance product with an insurance amount above 1 million yuan ($145,150) to cover more people aged between 61 and 65, she said.

According to a survey from the company, people aged between 26 and 40 are the major clients for the current insurance product, covering more than 60 percent of buyers. However, the demand for family medical insurance from young generations is strong, as most of them are the only children in the family.

"With the aging process comes an increasing possibility of being diagnosed with disease," Liu said. "Although old people urgently need medical protection, health insurance products targeting the old at present are insufficient."

According to statistics from the National Health Commission, the rate of visiting a doctor for old people is 1.08 times higher than that of the young, while the hospitalization rate is 1.24 times higher.

"With the upgrade of the current insurance service, we hope to cover each member in a family, providing them with customized health service to satisfy different needs," said Kong Qingkun, senior product manager of the company.

Fan Hang contributed to this story.