ZhongAn launches big data platform for vehicle sector

ZhongAn Online Property and Casualty Insurance Co, China’s first internet insurer, unveiled its big data platform called Data Cube on Wednesday, part of its effort to create a big data ecosystem in the industry and serve its vehicle-sector partners by sharing data with other insurers.

By using artificial intelligence and algorithms to analyze people’s behavior, driving habits and creditworthiness, Data Cube provides a more accurate framework for car service companies to develop new products and upgrade their services, it said.

“We will connect players from various parts of the industry chain including users, insurance companies and retailers, and provide data storage, accurate product pricing and anti-fraud applications for our partners,” Peng Yong, director of ZhongAn Auto Big Data Lab, said on Wednesday.

ZhongAn, together with Sinosafe Asset Insurance and Urtrust Insurance, initiated an alliance which established a big data laboratory. Data Cube is a collection of the lab’s research results. ZhongAn also said more insurance and internet companies hope to join the alliance and the lab’s scale is expected to expand.

According to a report released by Oliver Wyman, a New York-based management consulting services provider, the value of China’s car insurance market is expected to rise from 683 billion yuan ($104 billion) in 2016 to 1.2 trillion yuan in 2021.

The size of the car insurance technology market will increase from 124 billion yuan to 412 billion yuan, indicating a golden era for the industry, said the report.

In September, ZhongAn raised $1.5 billion through a Hong Kong IPO. It shareholders include Ant Financial, Alibaba’s digital payments offshoot, Tencent and Ping An Insurance.

“ZhongAn has accumulated unique technological abilities that we hope to export and share with our partners, to further benefit the cohort who grew up in the internet era,” Chen Jin, CEO of ZhongAn, said Wednesday.

China is also accelerating reform in the traditional car insurance system, and car owners in Beijing can already complete insurance procedures on insurers’ websites, apps and via WeChat.