Odd couple? Axa and Alibaba team up to sell insurance online
There are some things that are just meant to be together. Salt and pepper. Jelly and ice cream. French insurance giant Axa and Chinese e-commerce platform Alibaba.
The two companies announced today that they have plans to team up, alongside with Alibaba-affiliate Ant Financial Services, to distribute AXA's insurance products and services through Alibaba's global sales platforms.
The new financial services power team will also collaborate to develop new product offerings and support each other in exploring new markets.
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"Forming partnerships with the most forward-thinking companies is part of our strategy to seize new business opportunities," said Thomas Buberl, deputy chief executive of Axa. "This proposed collaboration with Alibaba could provide us with a unique global and direct distribution channel, and we are looking forward to serving Alibaba’s customers and to developing bespoke and innovative insurance products and services for them."
Michael Evans, president of Alibaba Group, added: "As crossborder e-commerce grows rapidly, it is critical that we evolve our services and offerings to the businesses and consumers that conduct trade on our platforms. The collaboration between Axa and Alibaba will enable us to create new solutions and ultimately improve the overall customer experience."
Shares in Axa are trading up 2.1 per cent at €18.13 at time of writing.