Asian Insurance Companies Embrace Electronic Travel Insurance

In China, travel insurance companies are looking to selling air travel insurance policies electronically. The Air Union Insurance Brokers Co. Ltd, Tianquin Insurance Brokers (Beijing) Co. and International Air Transport Association have launched the E-policy. The E-policy is connected to over twenty travel insurance companies in China. Customers can purchase E-tickets over the internet, choosing from the insurance company that they want.

Of the three companies initiative the E-policy, two of them are professional insurance broker companies. Tianquin (Beijing) is a Chinese insurance broker. Air Union Insurance Brokers is ranked as one of the top six insurance brokers in China, according to commission income for 2005.

One other company in Asia that has embraced the ability of customers to purchase travel insurance policies through the internet is Abacus. Abacus is a travel insurance company that operates in Asia. Through its Abacus TravelSecure solution, travel agents can purchase and manage travel insurance electronically. Abacus TravelSecure provides travel agents with a convenient means of purchasing insurance electronically and linking any insurance bought to a passenger record number (PNR). Bookings through the Abacus TravelSecure solution have grown by 123 percent for 2003 to 2005, on a compounding basis.

Abacus is looking to expand its markets by adding regional strategic partners, adding new insurance vendors and promoting the sale of travel insurance. They have been steadily growing over the past few years, and achieved a growth of 37% in August 2006. They believe that the planned expansion of Abacus TravelSecure will lead to even further growth. Assist Card was recently added to Abacus TravelSecure. Assist Card is planned to be introduced in different countries across Asia before April 2007, including the Philippines, Thailand, China, Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam and South Korea. Other partners of Abacus TravelSecure include AIG, MSIG (Aviva), AXA and Blue Cross. These companies are used in different combinations across different markets throughout the Asia Pacific region.