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The new regulations on Internet property insurance, which have attracted much attention in the industry, have finally been implemented, and the worries of the "poor students" of property insurance companies have finally come true. Recently, the Financial Regulatory Bureau issued a "Notice on Strengthening and Improving the Supervision of Internet Property Insurance Business" (hereinafter referred to as the "New Regulations on Internet Property Insurance"), which not only put forward new requirements for the Internet property insurance market, but also made eight insurance companies such as Anxin Property Insurance and Bohai Property Insurance face the reality of leaving the market.

However, a Beijing Business Daily reporter found that after the new Internet property insurance regulations were implemented, there were still institutions outside the threshold that were "secretly" operating online businesses, turning a blind eye to the new regulations...

Eight institutions temporarily withdraw from Internet business

On August 9, the Financial Regulatory Administration issued new regulations on Internet property insurance, clarifying that insurance companies can, in principle, expand the operating area of ​​Internet property insurance business to provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and cities with independent planning status) where no branches have been established.

According to regulatory requirements, property insurance companies other than internet insurance companies need to meet certain thresholds to carry out internet property insurance business, including a comprehensive solvency ratio of no less than 120% for the last four consecutive quarters, a core solvency ratio of no less than 75%, and a comprehensive risk rating of B or above for the last four consecutive quarters.

Beijing Business Daily reporter learned that, as of now, eight property and casualty insurance companies have been "turned away", namely, Anxin Property and Casualty Insurance, Huaan Property and Casualty Insurance, Bohai Property and Casualty Insurance, Qianhai Property and Casualty Insurance, Zhufeng Property and Casualty Insurance, Dubang Property and Casualty Insurance, Anhua Agricultural Insurance, and Fude Property and Casualty Insurance. The new regulations on Internet property and casualty insurance clearly state that property and casualty insurance companies that do not meet the operating threshold should immediately stop developing new Internet property and casualty insurance business. Within 10 working days from the date of stopping the development of new business, they should report to the Financial Regulatory Administration or its dispatched agencies responsible for daily supervision, and disclose relevant information on the official website, self-operated online platform, and the self-operated online platform of the entrusted insurance intermediary institution.

At present, the new regulations have been in place for 10 days, and various institutions are also rectifying and shutting down their businesses in accordance with regulatory requirements. On August 20, a Beijing Business Daily reporter found that most insurance companies that did not meet the operating threshold had stopped selling their online products or could not insure them.

Li Wenzhong, deputy director of the Rural Insurance Research Institute of Capital University of Economics and Business, said that according to the requirements of regulatory documents, insurance companies that do not meet the threshold should no longer be able to operate Internet property insurance business, that is, they cannot sell property insurance products through Internet channels, but they can continue to use the Internet to promote insurance products and introduce business.

Some non-threshold institutions failed to stop selling in time

The implementation of new Internet regulations requires insurance companies that do not meet operating thresholds to immediately cease new business, but Beijing Business Daily reporters found that some individual insurance companies that were "turned away" not only did not disclose the information of suspending Internet property insurance business on their official websites, but even continued to sell products on their own platforms, ignoring regulatory requirements.

On August 20, a Beijing Business Daily reporter found that on the WeChat official account of Anhua Agricultural Insurance, Anhua Agricultural Insurance's home liability insurance, Anjubao family property insurance and other products can still be paid for through online channels. Jiacaibao and Chongaibao, insured by Qianhai Property Insurance, can also complete online channel payment through the online official account of Qianhai Property Insurance. Fu Jian, director of Henan Zejin Law Firm, said that Anhua Agricultural Insurance and Qianhai Property Insurance still have online products on sale, which reflects a certain lag in the implementation of regulatory policies. Bai Wenxi, vice chairman of the China Enterprise Capital Alliance, believes that some institutions that do not meet the operating threshold still have online products on sale, which reflects that some insurance companies may have violated regulations.

A Beijing Business Daily reporter sent a letter to Anhua Agricultural Insurance and Qianhai Property Insurance to interview them about the issue of whether the products had been discontinued. After the reporter sent the letter, Anhua Agricultural Insurance and Qianhai Property Insurance quickly closed the online insurance entrance.

Caption: The left picture shows the online insurance portal before the reporter sent the letter; the right picture shows the online insurance portal closed after the reporter sent the letter

Caption: The left picture shows the product insurance entrance before the reporter sent the letter; the right picture shows the product insurance entrance closed after the reporter sent the letter

Regarding the situation of selling insurance products online without meeting the operating threshold, Anhua Agricultural Insurance responded to the Beijing Business Daily reporter that after receiving the document, the company carefully studied the regulatory requirements, deeply understood the spirit of the document, and resolutely implemented it. The company took immediate action and suspended all new Internet cooperation and product development under negotiation. In accordance with the requirements of the transition period, we are actively conducting comprehensive self-inspection of the business, system updates, process adjustments, and product removal. All Internet property insurance products will be removed from the shelves before August 23.

Qianhai Property & Casualty Insurance also gave a similar response. The company said that since the company does not meet the conditions for conducting Internet property insurance business at present, the company has made overall arrangements and will combine customer service, channel management and other aspects to orderly arrange to stop Internet insurance business. As of now, the company's self-operated official WeChat account has stopped the online sales function.

The opening of auto insurance is good for leading insurance companies

In addition to some institutions losing their operating qualifications, the industry's biggest concern is that regulators have "opened the door" to online auto insurance business.

Beijing Business Daily reporter learned that although the new Internet property insurance regulations set strict regional thresholds for auto insurance, they also opened a window: strictly controlling property insurance companies from expanding their motor vehicle insurance business areas to provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities directly under the central government, and cities with independent planning status) through the Internet without setting up branches. Those with strong risk management, internal control management and comprehensive service capabilities, matching the corresponding regional market environment, market capacity, business demand, degree of competition, etc., and meeting the corresponding regional regulatory requirements can be implemented after careful evaluation by the Financial Regulatory Administration.

Industry insiders pointed out that the new regulations on Internet property insurance have "opened a door" for online auto insurance operations, which is good news for leading insurance companies. Haitong Securities Research Report stated that the new regulations will help the standardized development of the Internet property insurance market, and leading companies may have more advantages. The implementation of the new regulations further strengthened the market regulation of Internet property insurance business. By raising the entry threshold, clarifying business development requirements, and strengthening service capabilities, it can more effectively protect consumer rights and promote the steady development of the market. Leading insurance companies with wide institutional coverage and strong internal control management have more advantages in conducting Internet business.

In the long run, the implementation of the new Internet property insurance regulations will help improve the level of auto insurance services in the entire industry. Li Wenzhong said that since auto insurance is a property insurance product that is relatively easy to standardize and sell through Internet channels, the regulations will have an important impact on the auto insurance market, guiding insurance companies to strengthen risk management and internal control and improve service quality through this incentive and constraint mechanism. At the same time, it also urges insurance companies to continuously strengthen the protection of consumer rights and promote the standardization and healthy development of the market. Moreover, this will also prompt insurance companies to use technological means to improve service efficiency and quality and meet consumers' demand for convenient and efficient insurance services.

Not only will the auto insurance market change, the implementation of the new Internet property insurance regulations is expected to reshape the entire property insurance market. Li Wenzhong pointed out that according to the new regulations, a small number of insurance companies that do not meet the standards will not be able to continue to carry out Internet property insurance business, while insurance companies with strong management capabilities can expand their auto insurance business to provinces where they have not established branches, which will further strengthen the survival of the fittest among property insurance market players. Secondly, the rules also encourage insurance companies to further increase their investment in science and technology, empower insurance business through science and technology, and strengthen the protection of insurance consumer rights.

Beijing Business Daily reporter Li Xiumei