Chazm, an auto lease and rental brokerage platform, is launching insurance products for car rental customers. The move is a strategic service backed by the company's commitment to invest its own funds to expand the auto lease and rental market.
According to industry sources on Wednesday, Chazm plans to roll out two insurance products this month in partnership with Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance exclusively for customers using its platform. The new offerings include driver insurance and deductible coverage insurance. Driver insurance covers legal liability costs that drivers face in traffic accidents. Deductible coverage insurance reimburses the portion of repair costs that policyholders must pay out of pocket when filing claims for vehicle damage. Both are group insurance policies, and customers who consent to coverage when signing auto lease or rental contracts through the Chazm platform will automatically receive insurance protection without complicated procedures.
The most distinctive feature of both products is that Chazm, not the customer, is the policyholder. Customers receive insurance benefits as insured parties while Chazm pays the premiums on their behalf. This effectively gives customers free driver insurance and deductible coverage throughout their three-to-five-year vehicle lease period. The deductible coverage insurance marks the first case in Korea's auto lease and rental industry where a platform pays insurance premiums for customers.
Chazm hopes this Samsung Fire insurance partnership will shift perceptions of auto lease and rental services, fostering consumer awareness that leasing and renting vehicles is cost-effective. This shift in perception aligns with the company's founding philosophy. CEO Jung Sang-yeon established Chazm with the goal of addressing information asymmetry and excessive distribution margins commonly found in the auto lease and rental market. The insurance support initiative was launched with the aim of reducing customers' insurance burden and adding lease and rental options to prospective car buyers' consideration set.
"We recognize that supporting insurance premiums will incur significant costs," Jung said. "Rather than focusing only on immediate costs, we developed this insurance product partnership with a long-term calculation to grow the auto lease and rental market." He added, "We are confident Chazm will capture the top market share in Korea's auto lease and rental platform market, which is why we are working to expand the market itself."
Chazm was founded in 2024 by Jung, a former Chief Product Officer at fintech company Finda. The platform allows users to browse vehicles available for lease or rental and complete contracts through a mobile app. While traditional auto lease and rental processes typically required going through sales intermediaries, Chazm has automated vehicle search and customer credit evaluation. Since the platform's launch, cumulative membership has reached 450,000 with cumulative transaction value of 260 billion won ($191 million). The company recorded its first monthly operating profit last October.
Chazm is currently exploring partnerships with major car rental companies to enhance customer convenience. "Lease and rental accounts for only 20% of the car purchasing market, and we aim to raise that to 60%," Jung said. "Chazm's ultimate goal is to change how Koreans buy cars."