The first internet-based insurer in China, ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Company (ZA Insurance) is establishing a joint venture company with Grab Holdings, a leading online-to-offline mobile platform in Southeast Asia, to enter the digital insurance distribution business in Southeast Asia.

The deal, announced on June 16, will see the JV – instigated through ZA Insurance subsidiary ZhongAn Technologies International Group (ZA International) - creating a digital insurance marketplace that offers innovative insurance products in a range of categories with fractionalized premiums, directly to users through the Grab mobile app. The JV will collaborate with global insurance partners to develop products that are tailored specifically to Southeast Asians' lifestyle needs.

As part of the agreement, ZA International, the entity for overseas business development formed by ZA Insurance, will bring technical assets to build the platform and insight into internet ecosystems to the JV.

Grab will launch the digital insurance platform through its mobile app and tap its wide user base and customer insights to deliver customized insurance products to millions of users.

The platform will be launched in Singapore in the first half of 2019, before being rolled out in other markets. It will provide millions of uninsured and underinsured people access to insurance products through their mobile phones, allowing them to directly browse and pay for affordable insurance products through the Grab app, without going through an agent or broker.

The tie-up will address the usual pain points of insurance discovery: unaffordable premiums and payment options by allowing for insurance premium payments to be adjusted and automatically deducted through GrabPay or its affiliate payment partners. To start, in conjunction with Chubb, Grab will offer a drivers' insurance product to its diver-partners in Singapore to protect them from loss of income owing to illness or accident.

Last year, Grab expanded beyond its core transport offering and provide users with app for food delivery, parcel delivery, grocery delivery, financial services, content and more. This year, Grab will expand into cross-border remittance and online healthcare.

For ZA International, the JV with Grab is a major step into the Southeast Asia market. As ZA International chief operating officer Bill Song points out, the company since its inception has focused on building technology capacity and fostering platform cooperation to support overseas business development.