China's first digital health insurance exchange platform was launched in Ningbo in eastern Zhejiang province on Sept 25, local media reported.

The move comes after Ningbo was designated as a national pilot zone for insurance innovations.

The platform, jointly built by the Ningbo Municipal People's Government and Shanghai Insurance Exchange, is part of the nation's broad push to solve the difficulties facing applicants when claiming health insurance.

Based on a data sharing mechanism between medical institutions, insurance companies and social security administration departments, the platform will greatly simplify the procedures required for insurance purchasing and claim settlement.

Claims for medical insurance and serious illness insurance will be able to be made in less than 30 minutes in Ningbo, which previously took one to two weeks, while the cost of medical information surveys will be slashed by nearly 92 percent.

At present, the platform has accumulated data from bodies such as the Ningbo municipal health commission, 410 hospitals, and 16 insurance companies in the city.

China's first digital health insurance exchange platform is launched in Ningbo in eastern Zhejiang province on Sept 25. [Photo/cnnb.com.cn]