Source: asiainsurancereview.com

Amidst all the mass hysteria surrounding the coronavirus outbreak, people in affected Asian countries seem to be avoiding face-to-face interactions and staying indoors as much as possible. This has led to many venturing online to seek services from digital insurers and telehealth service providers.

In fact, Hong Kong-based digital life insurer Blue told Asia Insurance Review that it has witnessed around 25% increase in its website traffic over the past two weeks. The insurer’s CEO and executive director Charles Hung owes this to “improved health awareness and increased recognition of the need for insurance protection as a result of the coronavirus outbreak”.

Along the same lines, another Hong Kong-based digital-only insurer Bowtie Life told local publication South China Morning Post that its blog traffic and insurance sales almost tripled in the first month of the year as a significant decrease in public travel coincided with a sharp rise in the number of online searches for coronavirus and health-related topics.

While Bowtie believes its online model offers exceptional convenience to customers, Blue said its digital platform enables direct online enrolment of insurance policies without the need to go through any intermediaries. Customers are therefore able to sign up entirely online to its term life, critical illness and personal accident and savings products.

Seeking to provide adequate coronavirus coverage, Blue recently launched a ‘WeSave S1’ savings product which does not have any exclusion for the novel coronavirus for any death claims. It is also exploring extended coverage for other products.

Telehealth has emerged as a new avenue to allay fears of contacting the coronavirus when getting a medical consultation at a healthcare facility which might be visited by infected patients as well. According to the World Health Organization, well-designed telehealth schemes can improve healthcare access and outcomes particularly for vulnerable groups.

International personal medical insurance provider APRIL International Care has therefore opened up its free online medical consultation system called TeleHEALTH to all individual and group clients across the Asian region. The system operates through a partnership with a Teladoc Health, a multinational telemedicine and virtual healthcare firm, which allows policyholders to access unlimited consultations anytime in English and 11 other languages.

This means policyholders do not have to leave their home or workplace to get checked by a doctor. A consultation takes place directly over the phone instead with medical experts being able to evaluate the patient’s condition and then offer appropriate guidance and support.

According to APRIL International Care Asia regional CEO Romain Di Meglio, the new service might be particularly useful for the elderly, people suffering from chronic conditions, pregnant women or those with new-born babies.

“The new coronavirus outbreak has worried large numbers of people across Asia. Beyond the substantial resources being deployed to contain and control it, we believe it is our responsibility to contribute to the situation to the best our capacities. Awareness, avoidance of panic effect and basic protective measures are key to resolving the situation,” he said.