South Korean insurance giant Samsung Fire and Marine Insurance and internet services firm Kakao will form a digital general insurer, the two companies said.
“We are pushing for a digital insurance consortium that combines Kakao and Kakao Pay’s IT technology and platform influence with Samsung Fire’s insurance business to meet demands for nonlife insurance that are expanding along with changes in lifestyle,” an official at Kakao Pay told The Investor.
The official added that the two companies are looking to apply for approval from financial regulators later this year.
Read more: Kakao to expand insurance operations
According to report by The Investor, Kakao Pay is expected to hold the management rights of the planned digital non-life insurer, while Kakao and Samsung Fire will be strategic investors in the venture.
“We have just formed a task force and started discussions,” an official from Samsung Fire was quoted as saying in the report. “We intend to do something new, such as introducing a lifestyle product, different from a traditional insurance product.”
Carrot General Insurance, a digital general insurance venture backed by Hanwha General Insurance, SK Telecom and Hyundai Motor, was recently awarded approval by the Financial Services Commission to offer insurance products online.
