Do not go gentle into that good night, old age should burn and rave at close of day; Rage, rage against the dying of the light, though wise men at their end know dark is right, because their words had forked no lightning they, do not go gentle into that good night.
Fintech firms seek smooth entry to insurance market
getty imagesbank
By Jhoo Dong-chan
By Jhoo Dong-chan
An increasing number of fintech firms are seeking a soft landing in their advance into the nation's insurance market.
Different from domestic insurers' conventional sales approach, these firms said they will actively utilize their online platforms to attract a new pool of customers.
There are already numerous mobile apps allowing customers to compare the prices and coverage of insurance packages from different insurance companies.
Domestic insurers said it will be difficult for them to expand their presence, referencing the nation's saturated insurance market and the financial regulator's strengthening of related insurance rules, but customers welcome their entries.
KakaoPay, a fintech unit of the nation's largest messenger platform KakaoTalk, said it will start selling insurance products from the second half of the year.
“We are also reviewing our plan to launch our own general agencies (GAs) to sell insurance products online,” KakaoPay CEO Ryu Young-joon said during a press conference last month.
An insurance GA refers to a sales subsidiary handling not only their own products but also other firms' products.
Rainist, operator of online asset management app Banksalad, has recently set up GAs to sell insurance products. It regularly collects customers' medical checkup results from the National Health Insurance Corporation to introduce ideal insurance products.
Viva Republica, operator of peer-to-peer (P2P) online money transfer app Toss, already established GAs last year. The operator said it has also utilized its telemarketing channel to attract more customers.
Smaller fintech firms have also sold cheaper insurance products where customers can choose a tailored coverage without adding what they do not want.
Domestic insurers downplayed these fintech firms' entry to the market.
“The nation's insurance market is already experiencing saturation. It won't be easy for them to find their place here,” said a domestic life insurer official who asked not to be named.
Customers, however, welcome their entry.
“I recently landed a job in Seoul. Insurance telemarketers started promoting insurance products via phone from day one,” said 31-year-old Lee.
“It is almost impossible to understand very detailed information about insurance products via the telephone. I wanted to compare each insurance product's price and coverage in detail.”