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Regulator issues work plan for insurers managing insurance intermediaries

Source: Asia Insurance Review | May 2019

The CBIRC has issued its ‘2019 Insurance Intermediary Market Chaos Remediation Work Plan’, which sets out three main tasks for insurance companies: 
  1. manage their intermediary channels; 
  2. audit insurance intermediaries for compliance with regulations; and 
  3. strengthen third-party online distribution cooperation.
 
The remediation work is targeted at insurance companies, insurance intermediaries and third party online platforms. Each insurer has to complete a self-audit of intermediaries and submit a report to their local insurance regulatory bureau by 30 June.
 
The work plan states that in managing intermediaries, insurance companies have to focus on the following seven areas:
  1. Whether they collect premiums through fictitious insurance intermediaries business or through false listings, etc.
  2. Whether they sell unapproved non-insurance financial products, and whether illegal fund raising or pyramid schemes are involved.
  3. Whether they have induced intermediaries into deceiving or misleading the policyholder, the insured or the beneficiary.
  4. Whether they have used intermediaries to obtain inappropriate benefits for other entities or for individuals.
  5. Whether the insurer, through intermediaries, gives benefits to policyholder, the insured or the beneficiary that are not stipulated in the insurance policy.
  6. Whether the insurer has entrusted an unqualified entity or an individual which is unlicensed, or who has engaged in misconduct or does not have the professional knowledge required for to sell insurance.
  7. Whether the insurer collaborates with intermediaries to misappropriate or intercept insurance premiums.
 
To strengthen third-party online distribution cooperation, insurers have to look into:
  1. Whether the activities of third-party online insurance platform or of the latter’s staff are limited to display of insurance product details, website links and other sales support services; and whether they are illegally engaged in insurance sales, underwriting, claims, surrenders and other insurance-related functions.
  2. Whether they (insurers) are working with online platforms in wealth management, P2P lending, and financial leasing, etc.
  3. Whether they (insurers) are meeting their responsibility of supervising and managing their collaboration with third party online platforms.
  4. Whether third party online platforms comply with insurance regulations.
  5. Whether third party online platforms disclose information about their insurance partners in a prominent position and that the insurance services they display are provided by the insurers. A 

 

These news stories are taken from Asia Insurance Review’s unique eWeekly China newsletter. 
eWeekly China focuses on the world’s fourth largest insurance market – in English –
providing the most up-to-date news to give readers insights and overviews of the Chinese market. 

 

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