Junyuan Health Launches China's First Multi-Practice Medical Professional Liability Insurance

Not long ago, Zhuojian Technology and the Zhejiang Medical Doctor Association established the “Medical Chain Care for Physicians Public Welfare Fund” with an initial capital of RMB 1 million. A primary use of this fund is to purchase medical liability insurance (hereinafter referred to as “medical liability insurance”) for physicians. The specific design of the medical liability insurance plan and related consulting services are provided by Hangzhou Junyuan Health Technology Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as “Junyuan Health”).

Zhang Weiqun, founder of Hangzhou Junyuan Health, previously served as the legal representative and senior executive at insurance groups such as Ping An and Sunshine Insurance. With sixteen years of experience in the insurance industry, he has extensive expertise in insurance risk control, product development, and claims services. Zhang Weiqun identified that traditional medical liability insurance failed to meet the current needs of physicians practicing at multiple locations, as well as various digital health companies and hospitals.

In August 2015, Zhang Weiqun established Junyuan Health Technology Co., Ltd. and partnered with Sunshine Insurance Group to redefine the coverage, risk management, and claims processes for medical liability insurance, swiftly launching China’s first comprehensive multi-point practice physician liability insurance product. Junyuan Health and Sunshine Insurance signed a cooperation agreement for the market development of physician professional liability insurance and accident insurance, and established a nationwide project service center. This centralized model for policy issuance and claims handling proved significantly more efficient and provided superior service compared to the decentralized underwriting and claims processes previously managed by individual branches across the country.

“Medical disturbances” have long been a pain point in the healthcare industry. Data shows that,In 2014, there were 7.8 billion outpatient visits in China, while 118,000 incidents of medical disturbances occurred, including over 8,000 public security cases, resulting in the detention of more than 1,400 individuals; 80% of hospitals established police offices.The frequent occurrence of “medical disturbances” each year has spurred the growing adoption of medical liability insurance in China. In contrast, such insurance is a fundamental safeguard for medical practice abroad; in the United States, physicians’ individual professional liability insurance has a history spanning more than 100 years.

Due to the high professional and technical barriers associated with medical liability insurance, there are currently few high-quality medical liability insurance products available in China. As policies governing physicians’ multi-site practice are gradually relaxed, the latent demand for medical liability insurance is expected to be further stimulated. The establishment of Junyuan Health is precisely aimed at meeting this market demand.

Within just one month of the launch of the new medical liability insurance product, Junyuan Health successfully signed contracts with multiple institutions to provide related services.By December 2015, the number of physicians providing services is expected to exceed 10,000.According to Zhang Weiqun, founder of Junyuan Health, the institutions under its service contracts in 2016 will cover more than 400 hospitals across 17 provinces and municipalities in China. In the future, Junyuan Health will also launch insurance consultation services for patients, aiming to have a combined total of over 100,000 physicians and patients signed up on its platform.

Only sign contracts with physicians holding the title of Attending Physician or higher.

In fact, some insurance companies had previously made attempts in the field of medical liability insurance. However, due to information asymmetry between insurers and hospitals, it has generally been difficult for insurers to develop suitable medical liability insurance products. For instance, PICC’s medical liability insurance generated RMB 70 million in premiums in Jilin Province in 2014, but incurred claims totaling RMB 130 million. In 2011, PICC sold RMB 100 million worth of such policies in Jiangsu Province, with claims amounting to RMB 120 million; at its peak, the loss ratio exceeded 190%.

Currently, many Grade A tertiary hospitals are teaching hospitals, so there are inevitably numerous medical interns. Traditional medical liability insurance covers both physicians and interns, resulting in higher risk, and consequently, higher premium rates and loss ratios. Junyuan Health recommends that physicians generally hold at least an intermediate professional title; in fact, physicians engaging in multi-site practice are typically senior doctors with advanced professional titles.

Table 1: Comparison Between Medical Liability Insurance and Traditional Multi-Practice Physician Liability Insurance

To address the pain points of traditional medical liability insurance, some mobile healthcare companies have developed their own medical liability insurance products, such as Zhenlipai, Xingren Doctor, and Xingxiangyuan. Compared with these, the medical liability insurance recommended by Junyuan HealthThe key advantages include a low deductible rate, reduced burden on physicians, and an extensive network of offline service outlets provided by partner insurers, which facilitates claims assessment.

Table 2: Comparison of Junyuan Health’s Medical Liability Insurance with Medical Liability Insurance on Other Internet Platforms

Junyuan Health-recommended medical liability insurance primarily offers three key functional features:

First, it provides safeguards for physicians’ clinical practice.The current situation is that thousands of mobile health platforms are unable to purchase appropriate multi-site practice liability insurance for physicians, leaving approximately 100,000 physicians (a number that continues to grow) without coverage. In the event of a serious incident, the compensation costs would be exorbitant, which would be catastrophic for both startup platforms and physicians. This is, in fact, a key reason why many physicians have reservations about engaging in multi-site practice.

Secondly, medical liability insurance can provide certain financial compensation to patients who suffer from medical errors, thereby alleviating their economic burden.For patients bearing the consequences of medical errors, the outcomes are irreversible; providing appropriate financial compensation can help alleviate their emotional distress.

Finally, doctor-patient disputes can be effectively mitigated through offline mediation and insurance claims settlement.“The louder the protest, the larger the compensation; the smaller the protest, the smaller the compensation; no protest, no compensation” once became an “unspoken rule” for resolving doctor-patient disputes. Through medical liability insurance, the rights and interests of both doctors and patients can be safeguarded, and the introduction of insurance as a third party helps enhance the fairness, professionalism, and standardization of dispute resolution.

As planned, in 2016 Junyuan will partner with ten representative enterprises—including insurance brokerage firms, digital health companies, physician groups, pathology and imaging providers, chronic disease management organizations, and investment institutions—to jointly establish a new company. In this way, Junyuan Health will not only provide products and services but also leverage the strong ecological complementarity among its various platform partners. By integrating shared insurance demands, it aims to achieve a synergistic effect where “1+1>2.”

Text | Qin Xuejiao