Ping An Launches 'Residence Alliance' for Home-Based Elderly Care and Introduces the '573 Home Safety Retrofit Service'

On March 30, the “Enjoying Comfortable Aging with Worry-Free Living—Ping An Home Elderly Care ‘Home Alliance’ Launch Event and Public Welfare Program Inauguration” was held in Shenzhen. At the event, Ping An, together with its alliance partners, officially unveiled the “Home Alliance” model for home-based elderly care, launched its first flagship service under the 2024 “Three Savings” Service Promotion Year—the “573 Home Safety Renovation Service”—and jointly introduced the “Orange Warmth for Advanced Age” public welfare initiative with its charitable partners.

Guo Xiaotao, Co-CEO and Deputy General Manager of Ping An Group, delivered the opening remarks remotely for the event. He stated that providing customers with a service experience that is “worry-free, time-saving, and cost-effective” has been Ping An’s consistent and unremitting pursuit, and the establishment of the home-based elderly care consortium model represents the latest practice of this “Three Saves” philosophy. “In the future, Ping An will continue to deepen the construction of its home-based elderly care service system, helping more seniors enjoy their later years with warmth, dignity, and quality.”

Distinguished guests and leaders from various sectors, including the insurance industry, elderly care industry, public welfare sector, and academia, attended the event, along with executives from Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd. and its subsidiaries such as Ping An Life Insurance Company of China, Ltd. and Ping An Healthcare and Technology Company Limited, as well as Ping An agents and customer representatives. The video featuring renowned performing artist You Benchang visiting the "Zhulianti" exhibition hall had its premiere at the press conference.

It is reported that the event was guided by the Standardization Committee of the Chinese Society of Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, hosted by Ping An Life Insurance Company of China, Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Ping An Life”) and Ping An Healthcare and Technology Company Limited (hereinafter referred to as “Ping An Health”), and co-organized for public welfare purposes by the Shenzhen Foundation for Development of the Cause of the Elderly and the Shenzhen Ping An Public Welfare Foundation.

As a leading insurer, Ping An has actively responded to the national call and, grounded in the needs of the people, continued to deepen its “Integrated Finance + Healthcare and Elderly Care” strategy. On March 29, Ma Mingzhe, Chairman of Ping An, published a signed article in People’s Daily, stating that Ping An will continue to build a distinctive managed healthcare and elderly care service system. By setting standards, implementing centralized procurement, and supervising services, the company aims to achieve high cost-effectiveness, establish a robust service supervision and management system, and enhance the well-being of the elderly through professionalism. It is reported that Ping An began constructing its home-based elderly care services in 2021 and officially launched the “Ping An Butler” brand for home-based elderly care in September 2021. In October 2023, it collaborated with multiple parties to introduce the Home-Based Elderly Care “Care Alliance,” jointly developing group standards for home-based elderly care and nursing services. To date, Ping An’s home-based elderly care services have covered 54 cities across China, with nearly 100,000 individuals having qualified for the “Ping An Butler” service.

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At the recently held “Residential Care Consortium” launch event, Ping An Insurance joined forces with multiple partners to establish the “Ping An Steward Safe Aging Service Alliance.” Senior executives from Ping An Life Insurance and Ping An Healthcare, along with representatives of alliance partners, jointly witnessed the establishment of the alliance. Li Dou, Chairman and CEO of Ping An Healthcare, provided a comprehensive interpretation of the value proposition of the “Residential Care Consortium” model and unveiled Ping An’s first “Three Saves” flagship service for 2024—the “573 Home Safety Renovation Service.”

 ("Ping An Steward Safe Aging Service Alliance" Inauguration Ceremony)

According to the introduction, the "Home-Community Integrated Care" model can be summarized as a comprehensive home-based safe aging service system. It specifically comprises a professional group standard, a convenient assessment framework, a high-quality service alliance, and an intelligent service ecosystem. The aim is to help meet the home safety needs of older adults, achieving the goal of "fewer risks occurring, less worry for children." Under this system, Ping An Home-Based Elderly Care has joined forces with renowned universities and enterprises to establish a service alliance, independently developed a home environment safety assessment system, and launched the "573 Home Safety Modification Service." The "5" refers to a five-minute self-assessment to quickly identify safety hazards and needs in the homes of older adults; the "7" signifies the integration of alliance resources to provide targeted intelligent age-friendly modifications across seven key living spaces; and the "3" denotes a tripartite butler service that ensures full-process service follow-up and 24/7 risk monitoring.

"Ping An has leveraged its industry-academia-research collaboration to pioneer the 'Living Alliance' model, dedicated to helping seniors tangibly improve their home living environments. While promoting awareness of home safety, this initiative makes age-friendly home modifications—a traditionally high-threshold service—more accessible and hassle-free," said Li Dou. He stated that Ping An Steward will build on the alliance's strengths to accelerate the development of the "Wellness Alliance" and "Medical Alliance," thereby forming an integrated "Medical, Living, Care, and Wellness" consortium. This strategy aims to expand the network of high-quality services, enhance the medical and elderly care ecosystem, and consistently deliver a "worry-free, time-saving, and cost-effective" experience to seniors.

 (Li Dou, Chairman and CEO of Ping An Healthcare)

In terms of the “Residential Consortium” group standards, Ping An, in collaboration with Professor Zhou Yanmin’s team from Tsinghua University, as well as renowned industry experts and enterprises, has meticulously crafted the Guidelines for Age-Friendly Home Environment Modifications (hereinafter referred to as the “Guidelines”), providing assessment and modification guidance for seven major spaces throughout the home.

As a compiler of the Guidelines, Zhou Yanmin, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Architecture, Tsinghua University, provided a detailed interpretation of the current status and existing problems in China’s home-based elderly care environment, and conducted an in-depth analysis of the significant value of standards for age-friendly renovations. She pointed out that, after several years of exploration, China has achieved certain results in home-based age-friendly renovations. However, due to practical reasons such as immature experience, a shortage of professional talent, and standards that still need improvement, there remains a substantial gap between actual outcomes and expectations. Therefore, it is of great significance to summarize mature experiences and practices, cultivate a team of professionals, and guide specific service practices through the form of standard guidelines. “We hope that, through the compilation of the Guidelines for Age-Friendly Renovation of Home Environments, we can work with Ping An to create safe homes for China’s elderly population.”

(Professor Zhou Yanmin, School of Architecture, Tsinghua University; Doctoral Supervisor)

“Door frames are becoming increasingly narrow, kitchen cabinets are growing taller, and floors are getting slipperier, making it all too easy to lose one’s footing. The overhead lighting seems to grow dimmer with each passing day… I often wonder: if we could adapt our homes to better suit our habits, reducing coldness and loneliness while fostering greater connection, would life not become more serene and manageable?” In a public service video released at the press conference, renowned performing artist Mr. You Benchang emotionally highlighted the safety hazards present in the home environments of older adults, posing the question, “How can we make our homes better adapted to us?” This poignant message allowed the audience to genuinely perceive the practical barriers faced by seniors in their daily lives at home.

According to the latest data from the National Bureau of Statistics, by the end of 2023, China’s population aged 60 and above exceeded 290 million, accounting for 21.1% of the national population. Under the “9073” elderly care framework, home-based care is the practical choice for over 90% of seniors in China. Making home environments more age-friendly and safer has become the key to improving the quality of life for older adults aging in place.

In recent years, to proactively address population aging and improve people’s quality of life, China has introduced a range of policies targeting the elderly population. The 14th Five-Year Plan for National Aging Undertakings Development and the Elderly Care Service System explicitly calls for “advancing the standardization of elderly care services.” Policy documents such as the Opinions on Promoting the Construction of a Basic Elderly Care Service System and the Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy to Enhance the Well-being of Older Adults have been successively issued, continuously improving the institutional framework for elderly care services. The Urban Home Age-Friendly Renovation Guidance Manual, released in 2023, provides systematic, straightforward, and feasible renovation solutions and technical pathways, aiming to raise older adults’ awareness of home age-friendly renovations and enhance the industry’s technical capabilities in this area.

The aforementioned guidelines and standards have provided a favorable policy environment for fostering and developing the field of home aging-friendly renovations. Data from the Ministry of Civil Affairs shows that by the end of September 2023, China had completed renovation projects for 756,700 households of elderly individuals facing special difficulties during the 14th Five-Year Plan period. Meanwhile, market-based service supply continues to diversify. However, challenges such as low penetration of aging-friendly solutions, lack of public awareness, and insufficient marketization persist. There is an urgent need for the government, enterprises, and society to join forces to address elderly care challenges and achieve high-quality elderly care.

At the conference, Sun Jie, a member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Deputy Dean of the School of Insurance at the University of International Business and Economics, provided a professional interpretation of policy support and the current state of the age-friendly renovation industry. She called on all sectors of society to collaborate in expanding the reach of elderly care services and building an age-friendly society, focusing on market cultivation, standard exploration, industrial development, and media publicity. As a long-term researcher in the field of elderly care, Sun Jie stated that active corporate participation in and promotion of the formulation of quality standards for age-friendly renovations will further enhance market regulation. This will help establish unified standards within the age-friendly renovation industry, reduce purchasing difficulties and barriers, and simultaneously boost the competitiveness and influence of age-friendly renovation products and services.

 (Sun Jie, Member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and Deputy Dean of the School of Insurance at the University of International Business and Economics)

Shang Jingguo, Secretary-General of the Insurance Association of China, provided an outlook on the model by which insurance companies empower home-based elderly care services. He pointed out that the General Office of the State Council issued the "Opinions on Developing the Silver Economy and Enhancing the Well-being of the Elderly," which explicitly calls for implementing the national strategy to proactively respond to population aging, strengthening the supply of products and services for the elderly, and enhancing the development of pension finance products and their integration with health and elderly care services. The insurance industry should actively respond to the national strategy, serve the broader goal of developing the silver economy, strengthen its capacity to supply life insurance products, explore the path of "insurance + elderly care," and continue to support the advancement of China’s elderly care sector.

 (Shang Jingguo, Secretary-General of the Insurance Association of China)

Renowned performing artist Mr. You Benchang previously visited the showroom of Ping An’s Home-Based Elderly Care “Residential Consortium,” and the footage of his visit premiered at the press conference. Through Mr. You’s perspective, the audience enjoyed an immersive experience of the specific applications of age-friendly renovations in various spaces, including the living room, kitchen, bathroom, and bedroom.

Targeted renovation and upgrading of home-based elderly care environments are crucial to enhancing the living experience of seniors in their later years. Ping An Insurance (Group) Company Of China,Ltd. aims to meet seniors’ genuine needs for comfort and safety in home-based elderly care through age-friendly renovations, while also respecting their independence and dignity in autonomous living.

At the conclusion of the event, Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd., in collaboration with the Shenzhen Aging Development Foundation and the Ping An Public Welfare Foundation, launched the "Orange Warmth for Advanced Age" public welfare initiative. Senior executives from Ping An Insurance, Ping An Life Insurance, and Ping An Healthcare and Technology Company Limited, along with representatives from public welfare organizations, jointly witnessed the launch. According to the introduction, the initiative aims to serve the broader elderly population by donating 300,000 online home environment safety assessment plans, 2,000 fall-prevention service kits, and hosting 1,000 community-based public welfare lectures. It is dedicated to popularizing knowledge on home environmental safety, reducing risks for seniors living at home, and enhancing their convenience and quality of life.

 (Ping An Home-Based Elderly Care "Cheng Nuan Xia Ling" Public Welfare Program Officially Launched)

Chen Yao, General Manager of the Brand Promotion Department at Ping An Insurance (Group) Company of China, Ltd., stated that home adaptations for aging in place are an effective means of preventing falls among the elderly, maintaining or even enhancing their ability to live independently, and improving their quality of life and safety. Upholding its original commitment to serving the people through finance, Ping An continues to pay close attention to societal needs and is dedicated to promoting the high-quality development of pension finance and inclusive finance. The company looks forward to innovating public welfare models through this collaboration, raising social awareness of age-friendly renovations, extending age-appropriate services to more seniors, and creating greater value for society.

Yu Hong, General Manager and Co-CEO of Ping An Life Insurance, stated in his closing remarks that this year marks both the promotion year for Ping An’s “Three Saves” service initiative and the second anniversary of “Ping An Steward,” the company’s home-based elderly care service brand. Seizing this opportunity, Ping An has innovatively launched the “573 Home Safety Renovation Service,” aiming to provide a more “worry-free” experience for seniors and their children. Looking ahead, Ping An will further consolidate expertise from industry, academia, and research sectors to refine service quality, establishing the “573” home-based elderly care service as a benchmark for “worry-free” care. This effort aims to help more seniors enjoy a dignified and high-quality life in their later years.

(Yu Hong, General Manager and Co-CEO of Ping An Life Insurance)

Building a pension finance ecosystem and continuously improving the supply of elderly care services are essential for insurance companies to support the development of the elderly care industry and excel in the realm of pension finance. Currently, Ping An’s home-based elderly care services have accumulated certain experience in platform construction and customer service. Moving forward, it will continue to exert efforts in establishing industry standards, deepen the exploration of the “insurance + home-based elderly care” model, and collaborate to promote the standardization, normalization, and systematization of home-based elderly care services, thereby fostering high-quality development of the silver economy.

[Important Notice]:

The specific home-based elderly care services mentioned in this article are provided by Ping An Health Internet Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Ping An Health") and/or third-party service providers with relevant operational qualifications, among which paid services can be independently selected by customers according to their needs.