Singapore-based insurtech firm Axinan and Indonesian e-commerce unicorn Bukalapak announced a partnership on Tuesday, saying they’ll team up to offer insurance for the purchase of electronic gadgets as well as a general protection for all products that are damaged in transit.
Victor Lesmana, the director of payment, fintech, and virtual products of Bukalapak said that the partnership with Axinan was established in May, with the transit protection as its first outcome. The more specific electronic gadget insurance was launched last month. Sompo Insurance Indonesia is the underwriter for the insurance products.
“Electronics is one of the top item categories people are searching for on Bukalapak. Many customers are interested in the protection for gadget purchases, because the average price for electronics is quite expensive. Customers prefer to be insured, rather than having to buy a new product if there’s any damage,” Lesmana told reporters at the press conference.
Wei Zhu, the founder and CEO of Axinan said the number of customers who buy insurances on Bukalapak has grown significantly, around 70 percent month-on-month, but declined to share specific numbers. By collaborating with Bukalapak for these types of insurances Axinan targets to reach young customers.
“Young people don’t own a house, and many of them don’t have a car. But many people feel that their smartphones may be their most valuable asset, so we try to reach the customers at this stage,” Zhu explained.
This year, Zhu hopes Axinan will have more collaboration with other digital platforms in Indonesia, expanding to roll out more products, such as travel insurance and health insurance.
According to a joint report by Google and Temasek on Southeast Asia’s internet economy, ASEAN’s e-commerce business is forecasted to grow more than three-fold by 2022. In ndonesia, the online commerce market is projected to skyrocket from USD 8 billion in 2017 to USD 65 billion by 2022. With the local e-commerce market set to boom, complementary services like delivery will grow as well, but the risks of goods damaged during transit is often not accounted for by the retailers and ends up being absorbed by customers.