Qilu Bao 2021 Attracts 760,000 Insured in Jinan with Premiums Exceeding RMB 110 Million; 60% Purchase for Family Members

“760,000 individuals enrolled, over RMB 110 million in premiums, and policyholders aged 60 and above accounting for more than 30%...” These are the recent enrollment figures released by “Qilu Bao 2021.”

Since its launch in August this year, “Qilu Bao 2021” has attracted widespread attention from residents of Jinan. VCBeat has learned that as of December 15, the final number of enrollees in “Qilu Bao 2021” exceeded 760,000, equivalent to one person enrolling every 13 seconds.

“Qilu Bao 2021” is an inclusive commercial medical insurance product tailored for residents of Jinan. It was jointly guided by the Shandong Provincial Healthcare Security Administration and the Jinan Municipal Healthcare Security Administration, supervised by the Shandong Bureau of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, and launched by the Shandong Internet Medical and Health Service Platform in collaboration with Ping An Pension Insurance Company of China, Ltd., Shandong Branch, and more than ten other insurance companies. It serves as a beneficial supplement to Jinan’s basic medical insurance.

Following its launch, “Qilu Bao 2021” quickly attracted a surge of enrollment among Jinan residents, thanks to features such as an annual premium of only RMB 150, maximum coverage of RMB 3 million, and no restrictions on age, occupation, pre-existing conditions, or household registration (hukou), along with the option to pay premiums for oneself and family members using the personal account of basic medical insurance.

Experts stated that, in addition to the substantial insurance coverage mentioned above, the most compelling feature of “Qilu Bao 2021” that has attracted numerous residents to enroll lies in its provision of comprehensive online-to-offline medical and health services through its health service provider—the Shandong Internet Medical Insurance and Big Health Service Platform. This approach integrates insurance coverage, medical services, and health management into a unified framework, breaking away from the traditional model of惠民保 (city-specific supplementary medical insurance) products, which primarily focused on insurance with medical and health services playing only a secondary role. Instead, it has evolved into a deeper, multi-layered medical security system that places equal emphasis on insurance protection and medical coverage while strengthening medical and health services, thereby better safeguarding public health.

Data shows that as of 24:00 on December 15, the total number of enrollees in “Qilu Bao 2021” exceeded 760,000. In terms of age distribution, middle-aged (40–60 years) and elderly (over 60 years) individuals had the highest enrollment rates, at 35.7% and 34.4% respectively, accounting for more than 70% of all enrollees and constituting the primary participant base. Among all enrollees, the oldest was 105 years old, while the youngest was just 2 days old.

In terms of the gender distribution of insured individuals, females account for 53.5%, while males account for 46.5%, with the number of female enrollees slightly exceeding that of males. This reflects that in Jinan, women demonstrate greater awareness of insurance coverage than men and are more proactive in securing health insurance for themselves.

In terms of enrollment patterns, “family-based enrollment” emerged as a distinct feature of “Qilu Bao 2021,” with 60% of participants choosing to insure their family members. Specifically, 10.5% opted to cover their children, 11% their spouses, and 38.5% their parents. Moreover, a significant number of policyholders secured coverage for all three generations within their families. This indicates a pronounced trend of multi-person enrollment at the household level, reflecting Jinan residents’ heightened awareness of family health protection.

Furthermore, from the perspective of policyholders’ enrollment volume, 57% of policyholders insure only one insured individual, 26% insure two individuals, and 1% insure more than six individuals. The remaining policyholders typically insure three to four individuals.

In terms of insured regions, Licheng District in Jinan demonstrates the strongest insurance awareness, with a total of over 90,000 participants. Zhangqiu District and Lixia District rank second and third, respectively, with 58,000 and 54,000 participants. The top three districts for purchasing insurance for children are Licheng District, Lixia District, and Shizhong District; among them, Licheng District has the highest number of child insurees at 12,000, making it the area in Jinan that “cares most for the young.” The top three districts for purchasing insurance for parents are Licheng District, Zhangqiu District, and Changqing District; Licheng District leads with 40,000 parent insurees, earning it the title of the “most filial” area in Jinan. For spousal insurance, the top three districts are Licheng District, Lixia District, and Zhangqiu District, with Licheng District again leading at over 8,000 insurees, marking it as the “most affectionate” area in Jinan.

According to the "Status of Medical Insurance Enrollment in Jinan City in the Fourth Quarter of 2020" released by the Jinan Municipal Healthcare Security Administration, as of the end of 2020, the total number of enrollees in basic medical insurance in Jinan reached 8.211 million, including 3.135 million enrolled in the employee basic medical insurance and 5.076 million in the resident basic medical insurance.

The sole eligibility criterion for “Qilu Bao 2021” is enrollment in either the Shandong Provincial Direct Medical Insurance or the Jinan Municipal Medical Insurance. Based on a total of 760,000 enrollees, the participation rate in “Qilu Bao 2021” accounts for 9.23% of the total number of Jinan Municipal Medical Insurance enrollees. This indicates that the coverage rate of “Qilu Bao 2021” reached 9.23%, meaning nearly one in every ten Jinan medical insurance participants enrolled in “Qilu Bao 2021.”

Furthermore, data shows that “Qilu Bao 2021” collected over RMB 110 million in premiums. Among the insured, more than 274,000 individuals paid using their personal medical insurance accounts, accounting for 36% of the total number of participants. This demonstrates how the basic medical insurance fund has effectively leveraged small financial inputs to secure substantial coverage. As a result, Qilu Bao has become a model example of the deep integration of public medical insurance and commercial health insurance, driven by digitalization.

In fact, last year, “Qilu Bao” launched its inaugural product—Qilu Bao (2020)—priced at RMB 59 per person per year, setting a record with 716,000 enrollees and collecting a total of RMB 42 million in premiums. Among these, approximately 96,000 individuals paid using their personal medical insurance accounts, accounting for 13% of the total insured population.

Compared with “Qilu Bao (2020),” “Qilu Bao 2021” has achieved a comprehensive upgrade in benefit coverage: enrollment requirements are more lenient, allowing individuals with pre-existing conditions to purchase the policy, and premiums can be fully paid using the personal account of basic medical insurance. The scope of coverage is more extensive; in addition to covering out-of-pocket inpatient medical expenses within the pooled fund of basic medical insurance, it newly covers inpatient medication costs outside the pooled fund. Furthermore, building on its high-limit coverage, “Qilu Bao 2021” enhances health and medical services for insured individuals, including establishing electronic health records and providing free online consultations, second opinions from specialists, prescription refills through medical insurance follow-up visits, free medication delivery, and specialized chronic disease management—offering end-to-end online and offline services.

The “dual upgrade” in benefit protection and healthcare services has yielded evident results. Statistics show that, compared with “Qilu Bao (2020),” “Qilu Bao 2021” achieved varying degrees of growth in both the number of insured individuals and premium income. Furthermore, regarding payment methods, a total of 274,000 participants used their personal medical insurance accounts for payment, with the proportion rising from 13% last year to 36%, an increase of 23 percentage points.

In terms of enrollment age, the primary demographic for “Qilu Bao 2021” has gradually shifted toward middle-aged and elderly individuals. Notably, the proportion of enrollees aged 61–80 increased significantly from 27.7% to 32.3%, representing a nearly 5-percentage-point rise compared to the previous year. This trend indicates that a growing number of middle-aged and elderly people have recognized the value of commercial insurance in safeguarding their health.

Notably, although the premium for “Qilu Bao 2021” increased alongside upgrades to its coverage benefits and medical health services, 38.5% of initial policyholders still chose to renew their policies.

Overall, over the past two years, the total number of enrollees in “Qilu Bao” has shown a steady growth trend. The cumulative enrollment across the two product cycles has approached 1.5 million person-times, significantly enhancing the level of medical security for insured residents in Jinan.

From the continued increase in total enrollment, to the rising proportion of individuals using their personal medical insurance accounts for payment, and further to the exponential growth in the leveraged medical insurance fund, it is evident that by integrating with the medical insurance system, “Qilu Bao 2021” has deepened its integration with medical insurance and strengthened its “social security-like” attributes. While maintaining the profitability characteristic of commercial insurance, it extends the social security principles of public benefit and universality into the field of commercial health insurance, serving as a valuable supplement to the basic medical insurance for Jinan residents.