In this article, we highlight two fearless trailblazers, Ping An and AXA, who are subtly but effectively changing the rules of conduct in the Asian insurance market. Not all of these are case studies. They serve as models for what might be achievable when conventional insurance leaves its compartment and enters the cooperative, interconnected realm of open finance.
An Understated Revolution in Insurance-as-a-Service with AXA’s Transactional API
This was a direct answer to the Monetary Authority of Singapore’s need for increased transparency and interoperability in financial services, not just a tech flex.
What does this really mean, then?
As a result, insurers and even non-insurance companies can now integrate AXA’s APIs into their own systems to provide a range of services, including expedited claims processing and real-time product distribution. Think of it as the flexible, scalable, and highly configurable digital backbone of insurance-as-a-service.
Home, travel, and auto insurance are now covered by API offers, and health and life insurance products will soon follow. Additionally, AXA’s collaboration with SATS’ Ready to Travel software already demonstrates how sophisticated the future can be: insurance that is seamlessly integrated into your trip planning process. No documentation. No resistance. Just smooth coverage at the precise moment and location you require.
AXA’s Director of Digital Transformation, Tomasz Kurczyk, asserts that technology is the key enabler that boosts customer engagement. The secret to changing how people view insurance is APIs.
In summary, AXA’s move is to transform the insurance experience to seem as user-friendly and customized as your preferred banking app, Amazon, or Netflix, rather than merely increasing the number of policies it sells.
Ping An’s Smart Insurance Cloud: The Intersection of Technology and Insurance
Ping An is completely discarding the previous strategy if AXA is meticulously revising the guidelines.
Ping An, which has already been named China’s most technologically advanced insurer, describes itself as a “technology business with complete financial licensing” in addition to offering financial services. And that is evident.
With operations in financial services, healthcare, vehicle repair, and real estate finance, the corporation has grown into a multi-ecosystem behemoth. In the center of this development? An open insurance platform called the Smart Insurance Cloud combines state-of-the-art technology with useful applications for the contemporary market.
The Smart Insurance Cloud, which was introduced in September, is driven by two main APIs:
Smart Authentication: Uses cutting-edge authentication technology to streamline underwriting and customer support.
Smart Claim: This feature, which has fraud detection built in, uses AI-driven photo identification and automated damage assessment to resolve claims more quickly and intelligently.
This is a fundamental rethinking of what an insurer may be when it behaves more like a tech firm than a traditional carrier; it is not just a catchphrase like “digital transformation.” Furthermore, Ping An is competing with companies like Tencent and Alibaba rather than merely keeping up with them.
Ping An is “a technology-first corporation that just happens to sell insurance,” according to journalist Zarc Gin. This focus is important because it enables them to spread innovation beyond products to other industries.
The Significance of Open Insurance in Asia
Ping An and AXA are signals, not aberrations. indications that platforms are replacing products, experiences are replacing transactions, and cooperation is replacing competition in the insurance sector.
These businesses are adopting open APIs because they:
dismantling the divisions between retail, health, travel, and financial services.
enabling partners—even those who are not insurers—to include protection straight into client interactions.
Developing flexible, modular solutions that satisfy clients where they are, not where the policybook dictates they ought to be.
Perhaps most importantly, they are making digital accessibility and user experience the central pillars of insurance.
What Comes Next?
Now, we have examined three major companies that are pushing the limits of open insurance: Ping An with its full-stack Smart Cloud, AXA with plug-and-play transactional APIs, and VanderSat in the remote sensing arena.
We will examine how Allianz and Lemonade, two very different companies—one a global behemoth and the other a digital disruptor with a cult following—are tackling open insurance in the upcoming piece.
In the meanwhile, get in touch if you want to discuss how your company may apply the lessons learned from open banking and open insurance. To learn more about frameworks, tools, and practical applications, download the complete Open Finance report.
