New bancassurance regulations take effect on 1 Oct
Source: Asia Insurance Review | Oct 2019
China’s insurance regulator has issued new bancassurance regulations that will be implemented with effect from 1 October.
The CBIRC’s ‘administrative measures for commercial banks’ insurance agency business’ is a comprehensive set of regulations, containing 70 clauses covering a wide range of matters including access to the bancassurance channel, operating rules, exit from bancassurance operations, management and supervision of bancassurance. The ‘measures’ consolidate and update a series of related regulations issued between 2006 and 2016.
For the first time, the insurance regulator sets out quantitative requirements for protection products sold through bancassurance, that is, premium income generated from accident insurance, health insurance, term life insurance, wholelife insurance, annuities with a term of not less than 10 years, endowment insurance with a term of not less than 10 years, property insurance products (excluding investment-type products sold by property insurers) should not be less than 20% of the total premiums from overall bancassurance business.
Other stipulations include:
- banks must obtain an insurance agency licence in order to offer bancassurance services.
- insurance sales personnel in banks should have at least one year of insurance sales experience. They should receive no less than 40 hours of special training each year, and must have favourable track records.
- all insurance documents and marketing materials should be clearly distinguished from those of banks in colour and style, etc. Text like ‘deposits’, ‘savings’, ‘co-launched with banks’, etc, are not to be used on insurance documents and marketing collaterals.
- restrictions on the type of products to be sold to low-income individuals and senior citizens.
- bancassurance commissions must be transparent and entered fully in the books; kickbacks from insurers to banks or their personnel are barred.
In 2018, premiums generated from the bancassurance channel amounted to CNY803.2bn, accounting for 31% of overall insurance premiums. A
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