AGA China launches innovative policies

Allianz Global Assistance China, an international leader in roadside assistance, travel insurance and consumer specialty insurances, will introduce more innovative policies to China to explore the market, according to the company's top management.

"We are committed to leveraging our international resources and working with local partners to introduce our world-leading products and services that meet the specific needs of Chinese consumers," said Jacky Zhou, chief sales and distribution officer of AGA China.

AGA China, together with Bank of China Insurance and the largest online ticket sales and distribution site damai.cn, recently launched event ticket protection insurance.

Under the policy, insured ticket holders who miss events due to incidents that are covered can apply for reimbursement of up to 90 percent of the ticket price.

As a service provider for technical platforms and a claim settlement manager, AGA offers advice on IT infrastructure and product positioning. BOC Insurance takes care of product availability across China, while damai.cn functions as the service platform.

China's ticket market has prospered with the booming of the cultural, sports and recreation industries.

Statistics from damai.cn show that ticket sales have grown significantly in the past few years as have the number of requests for reimbursement after a missed event. The ticketing platform estimates that 150,000 tickets were cancelled without refund last year due to unexpected reasons, demonstrating a great market demand for ticket cancellation insurance.

Ticket cancellation and event protection insurance is already a successful and popular product in the United States and Europe.

The product was first launched in the US market in 2007 by AGA and Ticketmaster, an international leader in ticket sales and distribution services.

By 2012, such insurance had been introduced to 15 developed nations in North America, Europe and Australia, bolstering local ticket markets. AGA's local partners in those markets have seen the sales of both tickets and ticket cancellation insurance grow by 30 times from 2008 to 2012.

The product launch in China marks the insurance's debut in a developing market.