State Financial Regulatory Bureau: Strengthen and improve the supervision of Internet property insurance business
2024-08-10
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According to the website of the State Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau, in order to further standardize Internet property insurance business, effectively prevent industry risks, effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers, promote the transformation of the property insurance industry to digitalization and intelligence, and achieve high-quality development of Internet property insurance, the State Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau recently issued the "Notice on Strengthening and Improving the Supervision of Internet Property Insurance Business" (hereinafter referred to as the "Notice"). The relevant department heads of the Financial Supervision Bureau answered reporters' questions on relevant issues.
What is the background of the issuance of the "Notice"?
In recent years, the Internet property insurance business has developed rapidly, and the number of operating entities has continued to increase. It has provided a variety of protection services for people's consumption and travel, and has played a positive role in serving the real economy, serving new citizens and other social governance fields. However, the development process has also exposed problems such as inadequate risk control, insufficient offline service capabilities, non-compliant and imprudent business operations, misleading product sales, and concentrated complaints and reports. The Financial Regulatory Bureau continues to improve the construction of the Internet insurance regulatory system. The "Notice", as a supporting normative document for the "Internet Insurance Business Supervision Measures" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures"), further clarifies and refines the regulatory requirements for insurance companies to carry out Internet property insurance business. 2. What are the considerations for the drafting ideas and principles of the "Notice"?
What are the considerations in drafting the "Notice"?
The "Notice" thoroughly implements the spirit of the Central Financial Work Conference, resolutely implements the requirements for comprehensively strengthening financial supervision and preventing and resolving financial risks, adheres to the guiding role of "strengthening compliance operations, preventing and resolving risks, improving service capabilities, and supporting reform and transformation", strictly regulates market operations, and focuses on solving outstanding problems in the field of Internet property insurance.
The drafting process mainly follows several principles: First, adhere to supervision for the people. Standardize the operation of Internet property insurance business, give full play to the protection function of Internet property insurance in various fields of economy and society, provide convenient and inclusive insurance services for the people, and effectively protect the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers. Second, adhere to problem-oriented. Solve the outstanding problems in Internet property insurance business, rectify outstanding chaos, clarify operating rules, strengthen risk prevention and control, standardize business cooperation, and strengthen on-site services. Further clarify business boundaries, consolidate the main responsibilities, and strengthen regulatory requirements. Third, support innovation and transformation. Based on the development reality of the significant improvement of the online level of the property insurance industry, support the digital and intelligent transformation of the property insurance industry, and encourage small and medium-sized property insurance companies to innovate and explore through the Internet on the premise of compliant operation and controllable risks, so as to serve the emerging economy and social livelihood at a higher level. Fourth, adhere to the bottom line of risk. Adhere to the new situation and new business form from a more forward-looking, scientific and prudent perspective, standardize market behavior, and adhere to the bottom line of risk.
What are the main contents of the "Notice"?
The Notice has 16 articles, and its main contents include definition, operating conditions, operating principles, operating areas, risk control management, operating behavior norms, insurance intermediary agency control, on-site services, internal management, etc. It focuses on solving several problems: what is Internet property insurance business, which institutions can do Internet property insurance business, which insurance types can expand the operating area, and the regulatory requirements for Internet property insurance business. The key contents include:
First, the scope of Internet property insurance business should be clarified. The definition of Internet insurance business in the Notice is consistent with that in the Measures. When making specific determinations, the requirements of the Measures should be combined, mainly to see whether financial consumers can independently understand product information through the sales page of the insurance institution's self-operated online platform and can independently complete the insurance behavior.
Second, the operating conditions for Internet property insurance business are clarified. The Notice sets conditions in terms of solvency, comprehensive risk rating, etc. In order to ensure policy coordination, the conditions are basically consistent with the conditions for property insurance companies to operate short-term health insurance and accidental injury insurance through the Internet in the previous Notice of the Office of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on Further Regulating the Internet Personal Insurance Business of Insurance Institutions.
Third, the scope of insurance types that can expand the operating area is clarified. Support property insurance companies to develop small-amount, decentralized, convenient and inclusive property insurance products based on specific Internet scenarios, strictly control property insurance companies from expanding the operating area of motor vehicle insurance through the Internet, and in principle, agricultural insurance, ship insurance, special risk insurance, etc. cannot be expanded through the Internet. Property insurance companies are strictly prohibited from expanding the operating area of offline businesses through the Internet.
Fourth, clarify the regulatory requirements for Internet property insurance business. Clarify the regulatory requirements for Internet property insurance business in terms of operating rules, risk management, internal control, and on-site services, with a focus on clarifying and refining requirements for on-site services. It is required to establish an independent and effective risk internal control system, strengthen the management of on-site service institutions, and strengthen the on-site service requirements for policy-based and territorial insurance products.
How does the “Notice” protect the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers?
The "Notice" adheres to the principle of supervision for the people, focuses on strengthening supervision in areas such as business behavior norms and on-site services, enhances the transparency of Internet property insurance business and the availability of insurance services, and further strengthens the protection of financial consumers.
In terms of products, property insurance companies are supported to develop small-scale, decentralized, convenient and inclusive property insurance products based on specific Internet scenarios, formulate insurance terms and rates fairly and reasonably, and shall not develop insurance products in violation of insurance principles. In terms of services, it is clear that insurance institutions should establish a full-process service system for insurance contract revision, cancellation, claims settlement and complaint handling, and should effectively protect the legal rights of financial consumers such as the right to know, the right to choose independently and the right to fair trade, and should collect, process and use personal information in accordance with the principles of legality, legitimacy and necessity. In terms of on-site services, it is clear that the legal person institutions of property insurance companies bear the ultimate responsibility for on-site services and bear the main responsibility for handling complaints and opinions of financial consumers.
How to set the transition period of the "Notice"?
In order to ensure the stable supply and smooth transition of existing Internet property insurance business and protect the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers, the "Notice" stipulates the transition period arrangements.
The Notice will be implemented from the date of issuance. Insurance institutions that newly carry out Internet property insurance business must comply with the conditions and provisions of the Notice. Property insurance companies that have already carried out Internet property insurance business will be given a transition period. Property insurance companies should promote rectification on the basis of effectively protecting the legitimate rights and interests of financial consumers and fully comply with the requirements of the Notice before December 31, 2024.
Attachment: Notice of the State Financial Supervision and Administration Bureau on Strengthening and Improving the Supervision of Internet Property Insurance Business
(Source: China News Network)
