HK startup to offer pet insurance online
OneDegree, a Hong Kong-based online insurance startup, said it has closed a Series A funding round, led by major insurers and technology firms.
Under the arrangement, OneDegree will initially get HK$100 million in funds, followed by another HK$100 million later pending approval of its digital insurer license application from the Hong Kong Insurance Authority.
The funds will be used for technology development, marketing and product development, and as insurance reserve.
OneDegree plans to launch its product within this year. The longer term plan is to expand outside Hong Kong in 3-5 years.
Established in 2016, OneDegree's platform allows customers to buy and manage their policies online, either through computers or smartphones, without the need to consult with an agent.
The startup will begin with medical insurance plans for pets.
OneDegree noted that there were about half a million pet dogs and cats in Hong Kong in 2016, and that only 2-3 percent of them had been covered by insurance.
Co-founder Alvin Kwok, a former JPMorgan banker, told the Hong Kong Economic Journal that traditional insurance firms have rather complex sales and claims procedures. Given the high costs involved, it's difficult for them to offer products in niche segments like pet insurance.
In the US and Europe, some online insurers are applying artificial intelligence technology to simplify the process, leading to a situation where it would take just 15-20 people to operate such platforms.
RT/RC
-
Energising HK's creative industries through cultural big data Dr. Winnie Tang
The government has planned to allocate nearly HK$300 million for the development of Art Tech. How can the funding effectively improve the level of local culture and arts, and further consolidate Hong
-
How to well spend the HK$300 million allocated to art tech? Dr. Winnie Tang
Local movie director Chu Yuan passed away earlier. In a lament, film critic Ka Ming recalled Chu's five masterpieces in the 1960s and 1970s. In his remark, Ka criticised that like most old Hong Kong
-
A cross-border ‘yellow cow’ story Ben Kwok
Almost all overseas fellows of my age that I know came to Hong Kong during the pandemic only for one reason: to meet their parents as much as possible. But in order to see their parents in person,
-
Advancing responsible business conduct Hanscom Smith
We need only look at the front-page news to see that companies are reassessing their business practices in areas ranging from preventing and addressing forced labor in their supply chains,
-
Re-opening Hong Kong a must Brian YS Wong
Hong Kong’s value to its country remains its openness, cosmopolitanism, and fundamental willingness to embrace and take on the unknown. It is its internationalism, as opposed to inward-looking
