AIP News RoundUp – Episode 12 – Rahul Mathur and Theresa Blissing – February 15 – Does Anybody Really Want To Engage?

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Theresa is the founder of the Asia InsurTech Podcast and a Thought Leader on innovation in insurance in Asia. She has worked for ten years for leading multinational insurers in Europe and Asia before turning to management consulting and venture building with the goal of transforming the insurance industry and helping shape its future in the region.

Michael Waitze worked in Global Finance for more than 20 years, employed by firms like Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs, primarily in Tokyo.  Michael lived and worked in Tokyo from February 1990 until December 2011.  Michael always maintained a particular focus on how technology could be used to make businesses more efficient and to drive P/L growth. Michael is a leader in the digital media space, building one of the biggest and fastest-growing podcast listener bases in the region.  His AsiaTechPodcast.com show has listeners in more than 130 countries and his company, Michael Waitze Media produces some of Asia’s most popular podcasts.

Rahul is the Startup lead at Accenture’s FinTech Innovation Lab in London. Prior to joining Accenture, he was an Insurance Product Manager at Laka Insurance, a London headquartered early stage InsurTech start-up which recently won at the British Insurance Awards 2019.  Rahul holds a master’s degree in Statistics from the University of Warwick. He is an Ambassador at the Asia InsurTech podcast.

In this AIP News Roundup TheresaMichael and Rahul are discussing the latest news from early February. GoJek has partnered with PasarPolis to launch GoSure on its 3PP platform. Grab in the meantime has acquired Bento, a Singapore-based wealth-tech Robo-advisory startup.

Lots of news coming out of India again. Acko is about to raise around USD 4.2 million in venture debt after raising USD 35 million last November. WhatsApp Pay has granted NPCI permission to roll out its payment service in a phased manner. The first phase will cater to 10 million users in India. And in more regulatory news, insurance regulator IRDAI is developing a concept paper on standalone micro-insurance companies. Maybe we will soon see new rules for micro insurers operating in India. 

In the more mature markets in Asia, traditional insurance companies are speeding up the digital transformation of their operations and services in partnership with startups. In Korea, Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and Kakao Pay, a fintech spin-off of mobile messenger giant Kakao, together plan to set up an online-only insurance company this year. Just after Hanwha’s Carrot General Insurance received their license in January 2020. In Singapore, we see lots of movement in wellness and health prevention products. Aetna partners with Prenetics to offer DNA testing as part of group benefits, Axa announces a partnership with Classpass and Great Eastern launches FitAge. 

Other companies mentioned in this episode: TokopediaJustInCaseWaterdropSightcallEitqa

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