Pet insurance has once again become a hot topic among “shit collectors”. On July 6, "Beijing Business Daily" reported "Giving services but being asked to pay the difference?" The article "A Series of Troublesome Things Happened to Popular Pets When Insuring" attracted widespread attention in the market. Many pet insurance consumers left messages "complaining", such as making a vaccine appointment, but the hospital did not receive the vaccine appointment information, and there was no progress after making an appointment for anthelmintic drug . wait. Some users have already received vaccinations at their own expense due to difficulty in cashing out value-added services, and have no choice but to cancel their insurance.
From the current point of view, pet identification risks, adverse selection risks, excessive medical risks... these risk points have just entered the industry's vision, but there is a situation where the gourd floats up when the gourd is pressed, and the risks of value-added servers begin to be exposed. For example, due to inventory shortages and few cooperation points, the risk of insurance surrender due to difficulty in cashing out vaccines, and the price of value-added services approaching premiums also bring about discussions on sustainability. So, how can insurance institutions “remove” these two major stumbling blocks to pet insurance and achieve sustainability?
Intensified surrender risks and the involution of value-added services challenge the sustainable "bottom line"
According to previous reports by reporters, Wu Ying, who lives in Liaoning Province, experienced a series of "bad" experiences in the vaccine appointment service, such as vaccine shortages, possible need To make up for the price difference, this is completely different from her longing for pet insurance to provide services that can be used at any time and cashed out immediately. In fact, she is far from the only one who has been kicked out of pet insurance value-added services. Pet insurance complaint posts and pitfall avoidance posts are commonly seen on social platforms such as Black Cat Complaint, Xiaohongshu, and Weibo, and some consumers have even stated that they are already on the way to surrender their insurance.
The emergence of the above-mentioned problems may lead to a situation where the insurance premium is not much, but the reputation is in a mess. According to a pet insurance expert in the industry, young customers will have more clear demands for the responsibilities written in the insurance contract, because they have not experienced the high-quality additional services of pet insurance, which also brings about the possibility of concentrated surrender. . At the same time, the sustainability and stability of pet insurance cannot be guaranteed.
Li Wenzhong, deputy director of the Insurance Department of Capital University of Economics and Business, also said that if users are unable to enjoy value-added services immediately and subsequently experience a large number of policy cancellations, it means that the market performance of insurance companies operating this insurance product is very poor and it will be difficult to Bringing profits to insurance companies often brings losses and risks. It is difficult for this kind of insurance product to avoid the fate of being removed from the shelves and discontinued.
In addition to the problem that value-added services cannot be enjoyed immediately and there is a risk of surrender, in terms of value-added services, the industry has also attracted "attention" to how pet insurance can be sustainable.
Various pet insurance sales platforms and insurance companies are being involved. However, the direction of the volume is rarely to protect product liability, but more to value-added services. Vaccines, deworming shots, and even free cat litter and dog bathing services have become "standard features" of pet insurance. Take the upgraded version of pet medical insurance underwritten by Dadi Insurance sold by Ant Insurance as an example. The premium for this upgraded version of pet insurance is 399 yuan per year. Judging from the market prices of its three value-added services, the value-added services are "quite expensive." According to an online shopping platform, the market price of the complimentary cat triple vaccine is about 150-200 yuan, and the market price of in vitro anthelmintics is about 50-100 yuan. In addition, there are also telephone consultation services from pet doctors without price tags.
"Currently, each company is still in the stage of business and market development. Giving away high-value value-added services is one of the important means for insurance companies to develop business and market." At the same time, Li Wenzhong also expressed concerns. He said that if the operation is improper, If it cannot bring a good consumption experience to consumers, the market development effect will be unsatisfactory and it will also bring risks to the business.
Pet insurance experts also said that if insurance companies focus too much on value-added services, the products will gradually diverge from the essence of insurance protection. Even for insurance companies, the main body of the insurance company may become a "vassal" of pet medical institutions or pet institutions.
From the perspective of the development of comprehensive pet insurance, my country's pet insurance is still in its early stages, but its future development is worth looking forward to.The "China Pet Insurance Development Report" predicts that if the growth rate is about 25%, the scale of my country's pet insurance premiums is expected to reach about 1.4 billion yuan in 2025, and the pet insurance penetration rate is expected to reach more than 1.2%.
"Tips and tips" for long-term development: opening up the supply chain and improving critical illness protection
To deal with many potential risks and achieve sustainable development of pet insurance, insurance companies, insurance intermediaries, and third-party pet insurance management companies need to work together to Only then can we hope to break down the risks one by one and help the healthy development of pet insurance.
A reporter wrote to Ant Insurance regarding the difficulties in cashing out the pet insurance sold by Continent Insurance. The relevant person in charge of Ant Insurance told the reporter that Ant Insurance will continue to strengthen the supervision of service experience and urge insurance companies to strengthen the management and training of service providers. , bringing a better experience to users.
The current service network for pet insurance is not “extensive”. According to Wu Ying's experience, although the designated hospital at home can handle insurance claims, it may not be possible to smoothly enjoy the value-added service of vaccines. "Pet-related medical value-added services are not provided by insurance companies, which will involve unstable service network connections." Pet insurance experts said.
How to make the pet insurance service network "extended in all directions" instead of just a "tool" coordinated by resources to issue orders? Pet insurance experts said, “As the main body of pet insurance, insurance companies need to coordinate resources and solve problems from the source, which may require establishing or opening up a supply chain.”
The service link is the key. To provide value-added services for users to enjoy at any time, Li Wenzhong believes that first of all, insurance companies must establish a business philosophy of honesty and credit and provide products and services strictly in accordance with contract terms. Secondly, insurance companies must fully assess the risk of price changes in the value-added services themselves and formulate plans to avoid threatening the insurance company's operational security by continuing to provide services. They must also avoid supplementing conditions and setting up frameworks for the consumption of value-added services, which may damage the company's image.
In addition to ensuring the smooth and rapid realization of value-added services, from the perspective of product design, how can insurance companies avoid falling into the vortex of focusing on protection and value-added services?
Senior actuary Xu Yuchen said that taking the value-added service of cat litter as an example, it has two prices: market price and supplier price. Insurance companies can obtain goods at reduced prices through supply channels, and even contact them for publicity. As for companies that give away products, insurance companies may reduce the cost of value-added services, making the development of pet insurance sustainable.
From the perspective of heavy protection, because serious diseases such as abdominal transmission have a greater impact on pets and cost a lot, the current single reimbursement amount of pet insurance is limited, and the compensation for such serious diseases of cats may be a drop in the bucket, so There are increasing calls in the market to increase the single reimbursement amount and to design products for serious diseases such as abdominal transmission. Pet insurance experts said that in the development of the pet insurance market, insurance companies must take advantage of their core capabilities and adhere to the principle of the essence of insurance protection. In terms of the refined setting of pet insurance, you can refer to human medical insurance and combine ordinary It would be more reasonable to treat medical insurance and critical illness through two protection sequences.
In addition, leading traffic platforms such as Alipay Ant Insurance should also assume their responsibilities. When pet insurance first enters the market, in order for consumers to better experience and understand pet insurance, insurance intermediary platforms need to take on a greater role. heavy social responsibility. Pet insurance experts believe that, for example, platforms should assume some responsibilities for educating the market or promoting the market.
Currently, the status of the “master” in the family is becoming increasingly prominent, and people are more willing to pay for their pets’ medical expenses. iiMedia Consulting "China's Pet Economic Industry Development Status and Market Research Analysis Report in the First Half of 2021" shows that 48.8% of pet owners can accept pet medical expenses within 1,000 yuan; 27.9% of pet owners said they can accept 1,000-2,000 16% of pet owners accept a cost of 2,000-3,000 yuan; 7.2% of pet owners can accept a cost of more than 3,000 yuan.
“The market share has broad prospects, and it is another opportunity for innovation in insurance products. Therefore, pet insurance is worthy of insurance institutions to refine and deepen it."The above-mentioned pet insurance experts told reporters. (Chen Tingting, Hu Yongxin)
