AETNA Partners with Huatai Insurance

Posted on Apr 19, 2011 by Sergio Ulloa (G+)

AETNA, one of the world's oldest insurance companies, has partnered with Huatai Insurance in the People's Republic of China in order to provide a comprehensive individual international private medical insurance policy within the Chinese insurance market. The AETNA offering is thought to be extremely similar to the company's existing individual international health insurance products, and is designed to offer medical protection throughout the Greater China Region. AETNA entered the Chinese insurance market in 1997 through a joint venture with China Pacific Life Insurance Company; the companies formed Pacific An-Tai Life Insurance Company, although AETNA later sold its stake in the venture to ING during 2000. However, it was not until 2008 when AETNA officially established a presence in the China, opening a representative office in Shanghai in order to explore the growth potential offered by the world's second largest economy. With the interest from a number of global insurance leaders towards China, the partnership with local insurance provider Huatai places AETNA in good stead to capitalize on the rapid growth of the burgeoning Chinese middle class. Huatai insurance company has been active in the Chinese insurance market since 1996, when the company was created by a group of 63 large-scale enterprises. Huatai specializes in the provision of Accident and Health, Property, and Liability insurance. With more than a decade of experience working within the Chinese healthcare system, the Huatai partnership presents significant opportunities to AETNA as the company seeks to develop the future of its business in China. The AETNA Huatai health insurance offering is expected to be available to purchase within China by the end of Q2 2011. However, actual details of the policy, and its expected deployment date, remain uncertain at this time.