Allianz is to launch a joint venture with the Chinese search engine group Baidu and the investment group Hillhouse Capital in an attempt to set up an online insurer in China.

德国保险公司安联(Allianz)将与中国搜索引擎百度(Baidu)及投资集团高瓴资本(Hillhouse Capital)共同组建一家合资公司，目的是在中国建立一家互联网保险公司。

The joint venture will apply for a licence to sell insurance online throughout the country, and will target both individual customers and small and medium-sized businesses.

该合资公司将申请在中国全国在线销售保险的牌照，目标客户既包括个人也包括中小企业。

The trio behind the joint venture intend to offer a range of products including travel, health and internet finance insurance, according to people familiar with the situation.

知情人士称，该合资公司背后的三家公司计划推出一系列产品，包括旅行险、健康险和互联网金融险。

Allianz’s business in China only makes up a small share of its 122bn in overall annual revenues, but the company is hoping to tap into the rapid expansion of the local market, where premiums¹ are expected to quadruple over the next five years.

安联的在华业务仅占其1220亿欧元年度总收入的一小部分，但该公司希望从中国市场的迅猛增长中分一杯羹。未来5年里，中国市场的保费收入将增长3倍。

Allianz declined to comment. The company is due to update investors² on its strategy later on Tuesday at an event at its headquarters in Munich.

安联拒绝置评。该公司将于周二晚些时候在其慕尼黑总部的一次活动上向投资者通报有关其战略的最新信息。

The joint venture is one of the first big moves by Oliver Bate³, the former McKinsey consultant⁴ who succeeded Michael Diekmann as the head of Germany’s largest insurance group in May.

组建上述合资公司是这家德国最大保险公司的首席执行官奥利弗拜特(Oliver Bate)的首批重大举措之一。拜特曾在麦肯锡(McKinsey)担任咨询师，今年5月接替米夏埃尔狄克曼(Michael Diekmann)担任安联首席执行官。

It highlights the pressures that insurers are under to adapt their business models to the changing habits of customers, who are increasingly purchasing insurance online, rather than through traditional channels such as insurance brokers⁵ and banks.

此举突显出保险公司正面临压力，要求它们调整业务模式以适应不断变化的客户习惯。保险客户正越来越多地在网上购买保险，而不是通过保险经纪人和银行等传统渠道。

Mr Bate said earlier this week that the move online was having a “big impact” on insurers, and argued that it was important to make Allianz more focused on customers’ changing demands in response.

本周早些时候拜特表示，这种趋势正给保险公司带来“巨大影响”。他认为，安联为此应更加关注客户不断变化的需求。