If you were to ask a random person on the street if they own a pet and a personal insurance policy, there is a decent chance of the answer being yes. However, if you were to ask if they have pet insurance, the chance of an affirmative response is very likely to be low.
Although many Malaysians still do not have any form of insurance, the average family is still likely to be covered with a medical or life insurance policy. But when it comes to insurance for pets such as cats and dogs, that is a whole other matter.
This is where Oyen comes into the market, with the company aiming to carve up a niche for themselves in the insurance sector. While the pandemic may have wreaked havoc on the economy, if it was not for this black swan event, the insurtech firm may never even have come to life.
Michelle Chin, the co-founder of Oyen, recalls seeing almost everyone in her social circle introducing a pet into their lives as a result of the pandemic.
“One of our friends adopted a second cat, and the cat was found to be suffering from liver disease and she spent a lot of money on treatments,” recalls Chin.
This resulted in the other co-founder of Oyen, Kevin Hoong, wondering why there was a lack of pet insurance as a product. With a family background in insurance spanning 40 years, he was certainly well-placed to gauge the feasibility of spearheading the growth of a niche vertical.
“We found out that there was one insurance company offering it in Malaysia – MSIG,” she remembers.
“We then indicated our interest to launch a unique product offering with a niche focus on pet health, and the rest was history!”
As for their friend’s cat, Chin shares that she has made a full recovery and is now insured with Oyen!
How it works
Claiming to be the “best pet insurance in Malaysia”, Oyen certainly works to live up to that tagline. It pays up to RM8,000 towards the cost of pet veterinary bills, which includes consultation, diagnosis, and treatment at the clinic and hospital.
The more premium coverage plans also covers third-party injury; that is when your pet causes damage to the property of others or even other pets! This will include any legal fees, compensation and related medical costs up to RM30,000 for cats and RM50,000 for dogs.
In addition, even the funeral expenses for your pet are covered under the premium coverage, which includes the burial plot and columbarium.
Oyen is also transparent about what its pet insurance plan does not cover, listing all of these restrictions on its landing page; this includes aids and prosthetics, congenital conditions and surgical implants to name just three.
Like many other insurtechs, it also strives to use simple language to convey the extent of coverage that your pet will receive. Such simplicity is at the heart of Oyen, which like all insurtechs, ultimately aims to simplify the process of purchasing insurance coverage, even for a segment like pets.
Market challenges
Running an insurtech company is never a walk in the park, let alone in such a niche like pet insurance, and with it comes a specific set of challenges.
According to Chin, the biggest obstacle that Oyen faces is the lack of insurance knowledge in Malaysia. This often results in the company having to deal with and educate customers that cannot make head or tail of the insurance or claims processes.
“We were surprised that 80% – 90% of those who enquire with us, have very limited knowledge of how insurance works,” she shares.
“For example, we have had a lot of people who ask if they can claim for a vet bill that happened yesterday. Or they may be at the vet right now and they would like us to reimburse the cost!”
She adds that customers also often ask about covering preventive and routine treatments, the responsibility of which lies with pet owners themselves.
“Once people understand how the industry works, it is rather straightforward for them to consider getting their pets insured,” says Chin.
Although the concept of pet insurance is still fairly new and relatively unknown to the wider public, it is not a new product in Malaysia, having been in the market since 2010. Chin says this is proof that insurance companies have already established that the market is big enough for them to introduce such a product.
“We determined that there is a fast-growing demand segment through a few avenues,” she explains, adding that the pet care market in Asia-Pacific is growing, and is projected to continue growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 10% until 2028.
“Pet humanisation has been rampant – people no longer treat their pets as pets, but as a family member, and even children.”
This means that the way that people care for their pets is more extensive than ever before, with many now receiving home-cooked diets or even food prescribed specifically by pet nutritionists. Such pets also receive better healthcare treatments in general which could include pet hydrotherapy, physiotherapy and acupuncture to name a few. Some even go to the extent of conducting DNA tests on their pets to ensure proper lineage!
“As the cost of pet healthcare increases, due to higher demand for better services and more advanced equipment, the need for pet insurance will increase as well,” predicts Chin.
As for their future expansion plans, Oyen aims to provide “a holistic ecosystem in pet healthcare”. This means that any growth will be within the confines of the pet healthcare system first and foremost, instead of branching out to other insurance verticals.
“If there are opportunities that arise from our pet healthcare focus, we will be happy to explore them.”
When asked about what the long-term game is for Oyen, Chin is very clear as to what her ultimate goal is.
“Becoming the pet healthcare super app in Asia Pacific!” she says unequivocally.
Industry thoughts
As part of the insurtech industry, Chin is certainly building something special in Oyen. However, she believes that there are still some industry blind spots that often get overlooked.
“There is too much focus on the sexy parts of technology and digitalisation, and not enough on building empathy and simplicity into the user experience,” she notes.
Her deft observation is that the space is awash with technological innovation, so that is not a weak point that needs to be addressed. However, many insurtechs end up chasing new breakthroughs and often ignore the human element that is required to quickly grow a loyal customer base. Rather than cutting-edge features, ease of use should be prioritised.
“We need to identify how these technologies or innovations help improve the experience for customers both from a registration and quote journey, as well as claims,” she adds.
With its customer-first approach, it will be of no surprise to anyone if Oyen continues on its current growth trajectory!
By Caleb Khew
A version of this story was published in Smart Investor March/April 2022; issue 372.
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