JETCO and CoverGo partner to build open API platforms for car insurance services driving digital transformation in the local insurance industry

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JETCO and CoverGo partner to build open API platforms for car insurance services driving digital transformation in the local insurance industry

Hong Kong, 9 September 2019 –Joint Electronic Teller Services Limited (“JETCO”) today announced its collaboration with award-winning insurtech provider CoverGo to build car insurance API platforms that will offer price comparison, online applications, claiming and a range of other innovative features based on JETCO APIX, an open API (application programming interface) exchange platform.

According to government statistics[1], there are more than 680,000 private cars and motorcycles in Hong Kong as of the end of 2018 with new registration of private cars amounting to over 40,000 annually over the past 3 years. This represents an attractive market for local car insurance providers. Yet consumers generally believe that there is a lack of transparency in the car insurance market. Premiums of comprehensive insurance in the market could vary more than double, and variances existed also in premiums and policy terms among different sales channels[2].

JETCO and Covergo share the common goal of leveraging open APIs to drive the digital transformation of the local car insurance industry, bringing about more transparency, convenience and innovations that will benefit all stakeholders in the ecosystem, including insurers, insurance brokers and agencies, third-party service providers (TSPs) and consumers.

JETCO Chief Executive Officer Angus Choi said: “The car insurance market has always been highly competitive and customer satisfaction is key to retaining loyalty and acquiring new customers. We are pleased to work with CoverGo which is a recognised insurtech innovator. JETCO APIX, currently offering over 270 APIs from 13 banks and many TSPs, will provide easy and seamless connectivity for car insurance agents, distributors, insurers and external parties and allow them to collaborate and co-create new services on a highly secure platform.”

CoverGo CEO and Founder Tomas Holub said: “JETCO APIX enables us to build white label solutions through API for car insurance distributors such as traditional and virtual banks, brokers and TSPs on the one hand.  On the other hand, for agents and TSPs like online car re-sellers, we can provide end-to-end solutions including car insurance instant pricing to online applications, purchasing and claiming which no similar digital platform is available in the local market. We are confident to provide cost-effective solutions for all types of companies irrespective of their legacy system setup.  Besides, this fully digitised process will help customers minimise hassles and time in dealing with multiple parties which is typical for the traditional buying and claiming process. We believe car insurance is a good start.”

Mr. Choi believes that the local banking and insurance industries will continue to move towards an era of co-creation and drive for the seamless provision of goods and services. Open APIs, with its capability of modularization and decoupling of products and services, will allow banks and car insurers to offer a broader range of products and services to customers at higher levels of sophistication and speed.

Mr. Holub added: “Partnerships in the insurance industry will grow rapidly in number and importance. Car insurance has always had numerous parties involved in the value chain. With the advent of the car insurtech market, car insurers that are not part of the traditional value chain are deftly using new technologies to engage customers, and to secure a new customer base with products and services across financial infrastructure segments. The result is that the number of needed product services will exceed the limits of vertical integration for a single car insurer. Besides, establishing a new partner relationship is a crucial component for their digital strategies. One car insurer cannot do all. Same to the distributors and agents like banks, virtual banks, brokers and TSPs.  Today’s API ecosystem and new value chain require technology that enhances the flow of information and money.”

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About Joint Electronic Teller Services Limited

Joint Electronic Teller Services Limited (‘JETCO’) was established in 1982 by five banks: Bank of China (Hong Kong) Limited; The Bank of East Asia, Limited; Chekiang First Bank Limited (currently OCBC Wing Hang Bank Limited); Shanghai Commercial Bank Limited; and Wing Lung Bank Limited (currently CMB Wing Lung Bank Limited). In 2015, China UnionPay Co. Ltd. became a strategic investor of JETCO. Today, JETCO has more than 30 member banks in Hong Kong and Macau and supports a range of banking services for them across both regions.

JETCO currently operates more than 3,000 ATMs in Hong Kong, Macau and over 20 cities across mainland China, offering convenient, reliable local and cross-border ATM services.

JETCO also provides a range of value-added services to help member banks deliver innovative, secure online and mobile banking services to their customers. In February 2018, the company launched JETCO Pay Merchant Payment service offering in-store QR code payment as well as in-app and online payment solutions. 

For more details, please visit www.jetco.com.hk.

About APIX

APIX is Hong Kong’s first open API exchange platform offered by JETCO. It provides a platform for banks and cross-industry partners to connect with each other and collaborate to develop new products and services.

With over 270 APIs from 13 major banks, APIX enables service providers to create and test solutions easily in a standardized and secure environment, greatly reducing development cost and time-to-market. 

The open business collaboration built on APIX will benefit all participants, bringing unprecedented growth potential and competitive edge.

For more details, please visit https://sandboxportal.apix.com.hk/jetco/sb/

AboutCoverGo

CoverGo is the market leading insurtech company recognized by a number of awards including the Hong Kong government ICT Grand Award for the best technology solution for banking, insurance and capital markets. CoverGo enables insurers, brokers and bancassurance partners to digitize and distribute insurance products via any digital channel faster than ever before.

CoverGo provides an end-to-end solution including instant pricing, online applications, underwriting, policy admin, commissions, claims, reporting, analytics and white label frontend for all lines of business. CoverGo has built hundreds of open insurance APIs to increase connectivity in the insurance space and automate all processes.

The CoverGo platform is more flexible and adaptable than any comparable system, allowing product innovation with ease as well as swift integration into partners’ ecosystems. Thanks to using the latest technology, CoverGo makes it possible for insurance to be 100% digital.

For more details, please visit https://www.covergo.com/

For media enquiries:  

Charlotte Fan

Prime Communications Limited

Tel: +852 91919951

E-mail: charlotte.fan@primecomshk.com

[1] Transport Department 2018 statistics

[2] Consumer Council 2017 report