Hitachi joins forces with Vietnam's largest nonlife insurer

Hitachi will support Bao Viet Insurance with AI and big data solutions

The partnership will incorporate digital technologies such as AI and big data analysis into the business to enhance health awareness and prevent the development and aggravation of diseases in Vietnam.

Accordingly, Bao Viet Insurance will introduce Hitachi's leading technologies to analyse medical big data to Bao Viet Direct, an app provided to Bao Viet Insurance policyholders. The two sides will provide a new insurance service for improving health, allowing users to easily measure their risk of developing lifestyle-related diseases and receive health advice. The new service will begin on October 1.

With more than one million medical insurance policyholders, Bao Viet Insurance is a leading non-life insurance company in the country. Hitachi will enhance its services further based on achievements from joint initiatives with Bao Viet Insurance and expand them to Southeast Asian countries and other countries where demand is expected.

In Vietnam, the rising frequency of lifestyle-related disorders has been a problem in recent years. This increase reflects changes in people's lives, such as food and exercise, as a result of the middle-income group's strong economic growth and expansion.

While there is growing need for high-quality medical services as a result of rising affluence and improved living standards, most Vietnamese are unaware of the importance of prevention and early treatment. Many patients do not begin treatment until they are gravely ill. For example, only around 30 per cent of diabetes patients, said to exceed 3.5 million in number, are receiving treatment.

Furthermore, the country's medical insurance market has been rapidly developing, owing to concerns about rising medical expenditures as a result of increased personnel costs at medical institutions. This opens up opportunities for Hitachi and Bao Viet Insurance to expand insurance services in preventive medicine.