Hong Kong-headquartered insurtech firm YAS is looking into Indonesia, Thailand and Vietnam markets after expanding in Malaysia, its chief executive said.
“Markets of interest [include] Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam due to their large, young populations, rising mobile usage, and growing middle class,” YAS CEO and Co-Founder Andy Ann told TNGlobal in an interview.
“These regions have untapped demand for affordable, flexible insurance solutions and are rapidly embracing digital ecosystems,” he added.
Meanwhile in Malaysia, Ann said YAS focuses on sports and the company is dominating the market in all kinds of sports and outdoor activities.
“We are signing up thousands of new customers weekly and we plan to scale through new partnerships such as embedding insurance into sports court booking systems across the country,” Ann said.
In Malaysia, YAS offer sports coverage, insurance products for bikers and travelling insurance. Its insurance product Byke provide insurance coverage include bike damage and bike theft.
First launched in 2021, YAS is an insurtech company in Hong Kong, focusing on providing dynamic and real-time insurance solutions for modern consumers through innovative AI and blockchain technology.
“The insurtech sector presents opportunities to leverage technology for greater accessibility, transparency, and personalization in insurance. Growing adoption of digital lifestyles and mobile payments further supports this,” he said.
YAS aims to disrupt traditional insurance by focusing on microinsurance, on-demand coverage, embedded insurance, and instant claims processing. These areas simplify the purchase and claims experience while making insurance more inclusive, he added.
“Many traditional insurers struggle with slow claims processing, rigid policies, and lack of customer-centric approaches. YAS seeks to fill these gaps through agility, innovative digital platforms, and customer-first solutions offering insurance that’s tailored for each individual,” he explained.
Moving forward, Ann said YAS plans to expand into electric vehicles, autonomous vehicles insurance, low altitudes economy such as drones, gig economy worker coverage, digital assets, and lifestyle-based insurance products such as pickle ball catering to modern lifestyle and flexible needs.
Embedded insurance partnerships with platforms like e-commerce, payment gateways, charging stations, ride-sharing, court booking systems and logistics companies are a key focus, he added.
In its home market Hong Kong, YAS has partnered with AlipayHK and launched the world’s first dynamic insurance, offering free accident protection that converts every expenditure in the mainland into coverage.
This innovative insurance plan automatically adjusts the coverage based on the traveler’s real-time spending during each trip,
providing up to 20 times coverage based on the spending amount on that trip, ensuring a safer and more enjoyable experience. The more you spend, the higher the protection you will get, with a maximum coverage amount of HK$100,000 for one single trip, a statement in October.
“YAS is open to exploring collaborations with Alipay+ and other payment ecosystems, particularly in Southeast Asia and regions with growing fintech adoption,” he said, adding that partnerships with additional payment companies such as Visa, Master, WeChat Pay, GrabPay, and GCash are being considered to broaden market access.
In the interview, Ann also shared YAS’s plans, opportunities and challenges operating in its home market Hong Kong and Malaysia, among others.
Below are the edited excerpts from the interview:
What are the opportunities YAS sees in insurtech? Which are the areas YAS thinks it can disrupt the traditional insurance sector? Where is the gap?
- Opportunities: The insurtech sector presents opportunities to leverage technology for greater accessibility, transparency, and personalization in insurance. Growing adoption of digital lifestyles and mobile payments further supports this.
- Disruption Areas: YAS aims to disrupt traditional insurance by focusing on microinsurance, on-demand coverage, embedded insurance, and instant claims processing. These areas simplify the purchase and claims experience while making insurance more inclusive.
- Gaps: Many traditional insurers struggle with slow claims processing, rigid policies, and lack of customer-centric approaches. YAS seeks to fill these gaps through agility, innovative digital platforms, and customer-first solutions offering insurance that’s tailored for each individual.
What are the insurance offerings YAS plans to offer in the near future?
YAS plans to expand into Electric Vehicles / Autonomous Vehicles insurance, low altitudes economy such as drones, gig economy worker coverage, digital assets, and lifestyle-based insurance products such as pickle ball catering to modern lifestyle and flexible needs.
Embedded insurance partnerships with platforms like e-commerce, payment gateways, charging stations, ride-sharing, court booking systems and logistics companies are a key focus.
For the recent collaboration with Alipay HK, is YAS’s collaboration only limited to Alipay HK? Would YAS considerate collaboration with Alipay+ which has services in Southeast Asia and other regions? How about other payment companies?
- Current Collaboration: YAS’s partnership with AlipayHK allows seamless access to digital insurance through a trusted mobile payment platform.
We multiplied the users spending 20 times as their accident coverage for the user and this is the first time we demonstrated how dynamic insurance is possible. - Expansion Plans: YAS is open to exploring collaborations with Alipay+ and other payment ecosystems, particularly in Southeast Asia and regions with growing fintech adoption.
- Other Partners: Partnerships with additional payment companies such as Visa, Master, WeChat Pay, GrabPay, and GCash are being considered to broaden market access. We are also launching our partnership with QBE to launch insurance for Amazon merchants.
What are the main challenges in Hong Kong?
- Consumer Awareness: Many consumers are still unaware of insurtech solutions and massive education is required.
- Design of New Products: Launching a new product is taking longer than we thought as the industry is generally using the same old actuarial model in the past few decades, and it is important for us to push forward for more innovative products that would fit our customers.
It is understood that YAS has a branch in Malaysia. What are the plans? Where are the opportunities?
YAS Malaysia focuses on sports and we are dominating the market in all kinds of sports and outdoor activities. We are signing up thousands of new customers weekly and we plan to scale through new partnerships such as embedding insurance into sports court booking systems across the country.
Insurance is a highly regulated industry. Has YAS received all the necessary approvals?
YAS is a licensed entity and we work close with regulators to ensure compliance with evolving standards at the same to explore new risks and standards.
What are YAS’s competitive edge against other insurtech companies and traditional insurance companies?
- Data – YAS proprietary data allow us to create and design better insurance products that would fit our customers needs;
- Technology – AI and Blockchain are the foundation technology of our platform and with these technologies, we are able to create seamless user experience when it comes to purchase and claims.
- Flexibility – Customizable, on-demand products for modern lifestyles.
- Empathy – A customer-centric approach focused on solving pain points in the insurance journey.
What are the challenges to expand in Malaysia? What are the strategies to address them?
Claim ratio is higher than other regions and we hope that we can educate consumers to take good care of themselves and their assets. Launching more educational marketing and raise brand awareness are in our pipeline.
Any plans to expand into other markets in Southeast Asia? Which are the markets and why?
Markets of Interest: Indonesia, Thailand, and Vietnam due to their large, young populations, rising mobile usage, and growing middle class. These regions have untapped demand for affordable, flexible insurance solutions and are rapidly embracing digital ecosystems.
YAS MicroInsurance completes $4.5M Pre-Series A round led by Noria Capital, ZEMU VC & JKL Capital