Chubb announced it has entered into a long-term preferred provider distribution agreement with Suning, one of the largest retailers and most recognized retail brands in China.
Under the terms of the agreement, Chubb and Suning will partner to develop and market personal and commercial general insurance products to Suning’s vast customer base through online channels.
Suning has 230 million registered e-commerce customers and 130 million registered members of Suning Yifubao, the company’s online payment processing platform.
The initial product focus will include accident and health, travel, homeowners, personal device and package policies for small-to-medium-sized enterprises.
Suning’s network includes close to 1,700 retail stores across mainland China and in Hong Kong and Japan. The rapidly growing e-commerce platform of Suning Commerce is the third largest in China. In 2014, Suning became the first retailer in China to obtain a nationwide insurance agency license from the Chinese Insurance Regulatory Commission.
Chubb has a fully licensed property and casualty insurance company in China that offers substantial commercial P&C and group personal accident insurance coverage to local Chinese businesses and multinational companies with exposures in China.
"China represents a significant long-term growth opportunity for Chubb and we are delighted to partner with Suning, a retailing giant with a distinguished brand, a national footprint, significant marketing expertise and a multi-channel sales model with a large and growing online platform," said Evan G. Greenberg, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Chubb.
"With this distribution agreement, Chubb will bring to bear its unmatched insurance expertise and experience – from product design, underwriting, data analytics and claims to state-of-the-art direct marketing capabilities and a long track record of successful partnerships with leading sponsor organizations globally – to deliver exceptional insurance coverage and service to Suning’s customers.
"Our near-term focus is working closely with Suning to develop custom-designed products and marketing initiatives to maximize the scale and profitability of our partnership.
"Our distribution agreement with Chubb provides Suning an opportunity to further enhance the customer experience with innovative and personalized services," said Zhang Jindong, Chairman of Suning Holdings Group.
"In recent years, Suning has become an offline-to-online (O2O) model pioneer and leader with a massive member base, a multi-channel online and offline network, strong sales and service capabilities, and well-developed information system.
"These capabilities, along with our own experience offering innovative insurance products, are an excellent complement to Chubb’s leadership and proven experience in both personal and commercial general insurance. Together, we will offer our customers convenient access to insurance coverage that meets their needs."
Chubb is the world’s largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients.