South Korean insurtech company Carrot General Insurance has obtained the exclusive right from the General Insurance Association of Korea to use a BBI system for a period of six months.
The move is said to be ‘significant’ as it is the first such exclusive right granted in the auto insurance category among property and casualty insurers in more than four years.
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Auto insurance is a compulsory product sold by 12 general insurance companies in South Korea, with little to differentiate one provider’s offerings from another’s.
Consequently, according to Carrot, exclusive rights in this sector are uncommon, with it being the recipient of only two such rights since the early 2020s.
The insurtech company’s system, which is said to be an industry first, offers discounted benefits to all customers, irrespective of their past safe driving scores.
This system calculates safe driving scores monthly and rewards customers with reimbursements for safe driving achievements during the insurance period.
New Product Review Committee of the General Insurance Association of Korea lauded Carrot’s system for its originality and progressiveness, which led to the granting of the exclusive right.
Over the past four years, Carrot has collected driving data from around 1.5 million customers via its Per-mile auto insurance.
So far, the company has analysed 7.4 billion kilometres of driving data to derive driving scores, which encourages safe driving and provides personalised feedback to help customers improve their driving habits.
The exclusive right came into effect from the date of approval, and Carrot has been offering the BBI auto insurance product since 24 May.
Carrot Mobility Division director Kevin Yang said: “We believe that the acquisition of the exclusive right to use is the result of the efforts of all executives and employees to realise the value and vision that Carrot pursues.
“We will continue to work hard to create more innovation in the insurance industry in line with Carrot’s founding purpose of expanding insurance choices and benefits for customers.”
Set up in 2019 in Seoul, Carrot is the first fully licensed digital insurance carrier in the country.
The company was founded through a joint venture with investors such as Hanwha, SK Telecom, Altos Ventures, Hyundai Motor Group and STIC Investments.
