Insurers Prudential, Manulife seal tech alliances amid Beijing’s tightened tax rules

Hong Kong insurers Prudential, Manulife, and BOC Life are forging alliances in AI and healthcare to adapt to Beijing's stricter cross-border tax rules. Prudential has teamed up with Alibaba Cloud to launch an AI underwriting system, which enables financial consultants to quickly assess clients' financial situations, medical records, occupations, and residential profiles.

This collaboration aims to provide faster and better service compared to traditional methods. Prudential Hong Kong CEO Lawrence Lam emphasized that AI underwriting will help consultants identify client needs and deliver results within minutes.

Alibaba Cloud's Ethan Yuan Zhiming highlighted that the partnership combines Prudential's insurance expertise with Alibaba Cloud's AI capabilities, promising improved service quality. In June, Prudential signed a strategic partnership with Manulife Hong Kong to develop AI solutions for enhanced customer experience and operational efficiency.

Manulife and AHA Healthcare Technology recently signed a memorandum of understanding to explore collaboration in health management and cross-border healthcare services and insurance technology. This collaboration comes as many Hongkongers seek medical treatment on the mainland due to lower costs.

Manulife's president and CEO, Steve Finch, stressed that cross-sector collaboration can address the fragmented cross-boundary healthcare experience, where customers need to make multiple inquiries and coordinate different stages of their healthcare journey. BOC Life has collaborated with Deloitte Private to cater to high-net-worth individuals and wealthy families seeking sophisticated asset management and legacy planning services.

Wilson Tang, CEO of BOC Life, noted that cross-sector expert collaboration is crucial for handling the increasingly complex asset management and legacy planning needs of wealthy clients.

These partnerships come amid Beijing's new tax rules on cross-border investment. In July, China imposed a personal income tax regime on income generated through offshore trusts, and several major mainland cities began collecting a 20% levy on gains from offshore insurance policies. Despite these changes, Prudential Hong Kong CEO Lawrence Lam encouraged insurers to embrace AI to enhance competitiveness. He emphasized that insurers that best utilize AI technology will be the winners in this evolving landscape.