In this edition of China in Focus, in partnership with iptiQ by Swiss Re, we look at developments taking place in digital underwriting, with a focus on China.

The future of underwriting is all a question of data, and our in-depth article references a recent Guidewire report, which finds that traditional underwriting approaches are hindering effective data gathering, especially in the aftermath of incidents. It has become clear that when gathering personal data from consumers a consensual partnership needs to develop between insurers and customers, and we look at examples from the US and China, as well as wider innovations taking place in the market, in this case from an InsurTech currently operating in stealth mode, but with potentially transformative technology.

We also feature a case study of Ping An Health, which effectively collects and uses data to enhance underwriting performance, and to ultimately improve its customers’ satisfaction and engagement levels. Additionally we look at the InsurTechs and technologies which may be used to further underpin digital underwriting in the future; blockchain, which is vital for building trust in a digital economy, as well as a social scoring systems; we compare Zhima Credit v Tencent Credit.