A person in charge inside the platform that has been shut down told the reporter that the specific reasons for the shutdown are not easy to elaborate, but the practice of mutual aid drainage insurance is no longer feasible. For the network mutual assistance platform, it is difficult to maintain the break-even only by low management fees, and other commercial operations are needed to enhance the added value. For example, commercial insurance is drained, or health services and medicines are sold. However, there are still great uncertainties about the legitimacy and sustainability of these models.
In response to relevant complaints, 360 Mutual said that due to the continuous decline in the number of members, it is impossible to maintain long-term loss-making operations, and the platform has now been shut down, and only undistributed recharge amounts can be returned. The platform cannot recover the historical share amount that has been donated to patients.
Looking back at the heyday of network mutual assistance, it seems just around the corner. In 20 18, ant group took the lead in launching "mutual treasure". Since then, internet giants have rushed to this field and attracted many participants in a short time by virtue of their traffic advantages. However, the good times did not last long. Just two or three years later, the network mutual assistance platform was shut down one after another.
At the end of 2020, the Bureau of Combating Illegal Financial Activities of the China Banking Regulatory Commission published the Analysis of Illegal Commercial Insurance Activities and the Research on Countermeasures and Suggestions in Insurance Risk Watch, pointing out that network mutual assistance is still in an irregular state, and some prepaid platforms have formed deposited funds, which may lead to escape risks. At the same time, it is suggested that the domestic insurance regulatory authorities should bring the network mutual assistance platform into supervision, study and formulate access standards as soon as possible, and realize licensed operation and legal operation.
The potential problems of network mutual assistance are reflected in the increase of sharing amount, the gradual withdrawal of participants, or the intensification of adverse selection risk. Ping An Securities research report pointed out that "the overall feature of the network mutual assistance program is that over 60% of patients are over 40 years old. With the increase of per capita share, the decline of the number of participants, the increase of the incidence rate, or the acceleration of the withdrawal of healthy people, the risk of adverse selection further increases. "
The White Paper on Network Mutual Assistance released by Ant Group in May 2020 pointed out that in 20 19, the number of participants in China's network mutual assistance platform was1500,000, and it is estimated that by 2025, it will benefit 450 million people, accounting for about 32% of the total population of China. However, people in the industry generally believe that under the current situation, it is difficult for the total number of participants to increase or even decrease significantly.