By Wang Xinchuan

At present, e-business insurance is an important move of insurance companies to expand marketing channel, break the existing business mode, and improve competency. Such companies as China Life Insurance Company Ltd, The People's Insurance Company (Group) of China, China Pacific Insurance and Sunshine Insurance Group Corporation Limited have recently entered into strategic cooperation with 99Bill Corporation (Shanghai) at the same time; e-payment is comprehensively used in the business of insurance industry.

Lian Zizhi, Vice-president of Sunshine Insurance Group Corporation Limited, said that cooperation with 99Bill in e-payment will greatly improve the development of e-commerce of insurance companies and will lay solid base for insurance companies to achieve innovative business growth. Meanwhile, it has also adapted to such requirement of industrial policy of China Insurance Regulatory Commission as "charge/pay with zero cash and issue insurance policy upon payment", which has further guaranteed policyholders' rights and interests.

In recent years, the informatization level of insurance industry is moving up continuously, and such technologies tools as identity authentication of online transaction, online insurance charge payment and effectiveness of electronic insurance certificate are getting perfect day by day, e-business insurance has made great progress. It is known that those insurance companies involved in e-business field relatively earlier have developed dozens of online insurance products and have kept the growth rate of over 100 percent for several years.

Zhao Shuxian, Vice-president of PICC, said that PICC has opened e-business website as early as 2002. Now there are millions of e-commerce clients, the annual visit of e-commerce website is close to ten million and the number of registered customer is ninety thousand. "E-business has such advantages as 'low-cost, high efficiency, fast and convenient', it will have a positive effect to the development of insurance industry." said Zhao Shuxian.

The so called e-business means that insurance companies implement e-commerce and offer the customers individualized insurance service and comprehensive financial service through the internet, that is to say, insurance companies realize such processes as consultancy, comparison, insurance coverage, underwriting, payment, claim settlement, even management with network. By browsing the products and services offered by e-business insurance websites, customers could select insurance types and premium rate suitable for themselves; they can also pay insurance charge by means of e-payment, the premium will be transferred to the account of insurance companies or insurance websites automatically, the insurance contract is formed and the insurance policy comes into effect formally.

Compared with traditional insurance business mode, what are the advantages of e-business insurance? According to the introduction of insiders, e-business insurance is 24-hour services and is beyond space boundaries; it could add more ways to traditional operation and service and attract more people and more broad-based clients. As far as the service is concerned, e-business insurance is more convenient, transparent, and efficient than traditional business. Policyholders could find out the insurance types, premium rate and policy benefits of insurance companies through the internet, saving time and energy to talk with representatives of insurance companies face to face. Policyholders could also enjoy considerate after-sales service, such as information consultancy, insurance policy amendment, insurance renewal and insurance cancellation.

As for insurance companies, e-business could cut down marketing cost enormously, shape better company image and improve company credibility. At the same time, e-business is also helpful for reinforcing product publicity and expanding business through diversified marketing channel.

However, e-payment is a crucial part of e-business insurance. Guan Guoguang, CEO of 99Bill said that 99Bill could provide integrated and tridimensional online and offline payment service according to the reality of different business fields, covering areas including internet sales, telephone sales, claim settlement and insurance renewal, etc. It could simplify the business process of insurance companies radically and satisfy the payment demand of different policyholders. In addition, 99Bill could also offer financial management program such as inquiry, account checking, and group account management, giving more convenience to the finance staff of insurance companies to make highly-efficient fund management and supervision.

"As long as e-payment goes to people's mind gradually, e-business insurance will become a new growth point of insurance industry", Guan Guoguang expressed that e-payment industry would gain bigger marketplace through the successful cooperation with traditional industries represented by insurance industry.