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to ensure that insurance companies move forward steadily, they need a stable leader. however, there are currently dozens of insurance companies without a leader. according to incomplete statistics from beijing business daily reporters, as of september 18, there were 38 insurance companies, including everbright sun life, ruizhong life, huahui life, yongan property and casualty insurance, and xiaokang life, with general manager positions vacant. furthermore, some insurance companies have had general manager positions vacant for more than three or even five years. some insurance companies have replaced temporary heads several times in recent years, but there is still no news about the general manager.

so, what impact or restriction will the long-term vacancy of the general manager bring to the development and operation of an insurance company? faced with the industry phenomenon of a large number of vacancies for general managers and the general manager vacancy of insurance companies for many years, what solutions can insurance companies themselves have?

38 insurance companies are waiting to be filled

a stable executive team is one of the prerequisites for an insurance company to "take steps forward". however, there are currently dozens of companies in the industry without general managers.

according to incomplete statistics from beijing business daily, as of september 18, there were vacancies for general managers in 38 insurance companies, including everbright sun life, ruizhong life, huahui life, yongan property & casualty insurance, three gorges life, xiaokang life, bohai life, hotai life, junkang life, and yellow river property & casualty insurance. specifically, most of the general managers of insurance companies have resigned since 2022, and at the same time as leaving office, they also appointed temporary persons in charge.

however, there are also cases in the industry where the original general manager has left for more than three years without a new candidate. for example, rongsheng property & casualty insurance announced in august 2021 that kong bing resigned as a director and president of the company for personal reasons, and the position of president of the company has been vacant to this day. there are also insurance companies that have not had a general manager for more than five years, such as huahui life, three gorges life, yongan property & casualty insurance, and anxin property & casualty insurance.

in addition, some insurance companies have replaced multiple temporary persons in charge in recent years, and have not yet finalized the general manager. according to the announcement released by xin'an auto insurance in 2021, after deliberation at the 24th meeting of the third board of directors of the company, the company decided on may 13 to remove zhang ying from the position of general manager, and has designated a temporary person in charge to be responsible for the company's business management. in the following years, the company issued three announcements on the change of person in charge, changing the temporary person in charge of the work. the position of general manager of the company has been vacant to this day.

there are also insurance companies where the general manager was changed after only a few months in office. tan haitao, the former general manager of starr property & casualty insurance, has served as the company's general manager since june 21, 2021, and has ceased to serve as the general manager since august 25 of the same year. currently, the new general manager has not been seen in the company's latest solvency report.

beijing business daily reporters sent letters to interview many of the above-mentioned insurance companies whose general managers have been vacant for a long time. when interviewed by the reporters, one insurance company said that it is currently actively carrying out the selection and appointment of general managers.

regarding the vacancy of the general manager position, bohai life insurance said in an interview with beijing business daily that the company is currently carrying out risk mitigation work under the guidance of the financial regulatory administration and other relevant units, and the selection of general manager candidates is also being carried out simultaneously. at present, bohai life insurance is temporarily headed by chairman lv yingbo, and the company's overall business situation is stable and orderly, and the governance system is being further improved.

"at present, the company's business management is stable, and risk mitigation work is progressing in an orderly manner." regarding the company's progress in selecting the general manager, the company stated that during this process, the company is also actively carrying out the selection of the general manager. once a suitable candidate is found, it will report the qualification approval request to the regulatory authority as required and promptly complete relevant information disclosure work.

according to bohai life insurance's announcement, on may 25, 2018, the company's second board of directors held its third meeting and agreed to appoint ma xin as the company's general manager, and he will no longer serve as the company's deputy general manager. the summary of the second quarter solvency report for 2020 shows that ma xin is no longer the company's general manager, and the position of general manager has remained vacant to date.

what is the reason for "absence"

the latest list of insurance institutions released by the financial supervision administration shows that as of the end of june 2024, there are 239 insurance group (holding) companies. at present, insurance institutions without general managers are mainly concentrated in property insurance companies and life insurance companies. in the view of industry insiders, 38 insurance companies account for a relatively large proportion.

as for the situation that dozens of insurance companies in the industry have no general manager, industry insiders believe that this may be caused by a variety of factors, including but not limited to intensified industry competition, higher requirements for senior management talents, and problems with the internal governance structure of some companies. in addition, the rapid development and changes in the insurance industry may also make it difficult for qualified candidates to meet market demand.

liu chunsheng, associate professor at the central university of finance and economics, said that on the one hand, the insurance industry may be in a period of transformation, and the requirements for the ability of the general manager have changed, making it difficult to quickly identify the right candidate. for example, as the application of technology in the insurance field continues to deepen, leadership talents with digital transformation capabilities and innovative thinking are needed. on the other hand, it may be that the company's internal governance issues or the interest game between shareholders have led to the difficulty in selecting the general manager. for example, shareholders have differences on the company's development strategy and it is difficult to reach a consensus on the general manager. in addition, the uncertainty of the external market environment may also affect the decision-making of candidates, making them cautious about serving as the general manager of an insurance company.

regarding the reasons why the general manager position of an insurance company has been vacant for a long time, liu chunsheng said that in general, it may include imperfect corporate governance structure and difficult to reconcile conflicts between shareholders, which makes it difficult to determine the general manager candidate. the industry competition is fierce, and it is difficult to find a suitable candidate who not only meets the company's strategic needs but also has rich experience and capabilities. the company is facing major strategic adjustments or operating difficulties, and it takes time to determine the right leadership direction.

"based on the overall number of insurance institutions, the position of general manager of 38 companies is vacant. this reflects two major problems: the increasing mobility of talent in the industry and the increasing difficulty in matching senior leadership positions," said zhi peiyuan, corporate tutor for master's degree students at the school of management of china university of mining and technology (beijing).

zhi peiyuan further stated that with the rapid development of the insurance industry and the changes in the competitive landscape, the talent pool of excellent executives may not be able to meet the talent needs of all companies, especially under external environments such as the impact of the epidemic and economic structural adjustments, the competition for talent within the industry has become more intense. finding a general manager who meets regulatory requirements and fits the company's development strategy, has rich experience and excellent leadership has become a very challenging task. in addition, some companies may have problems such as an imperfect corporate governance structure, equity disputes, or unclear strategic direction, which also increases the difficulty of finding suitable candidates.

how to overcome the "difficulties" of recruitment

the supervision has clear regulations on the appointment of senior executives of insurance companies. according to the "regulations on the qualification management of directors, supervisors and senior managers of insurance companies" issued by the former china banking and insurance regulatory commission, when the general manager, chief actuary, compliance officer, etc. of the head office of an insurance company are unable to perform their duties or are absent, a temporary person in charge may be appointed, but the cumulative temporary person in charge shall not exceed 6 months. at the same time, insurance companies should select and appoint qualified personnel to formally take up the position within 6 months.

liu chunsheng said that once the position of general manager is vacant for a long time, it may have certain impacts or constraints on the development and operation of the insurance company, mainly including lack of consistency in strategic decision-making, chaotic internal management, and reduced market competitiveness.

"the long-term vacancy of the general manager position may have an adverse impact on the company's business development, such as the lack of strategic planning and execution, chaos in daily operations, decline in employee morale and weakening of market competitiveness," said bai wenxi, vice chairman of the china enterprise capital alliance.

the role of the general manager is crucial to establishing the company's strategic direction. in zhi peiyuan's view, the situation where the general manager position has been vacant for several years is often due to the complex internal and external factors, which have a significant impact on the development and operation of the insurance company. the lack of clear leadership may lead to slow decision-making, inefficient execution and weakened corporate culture, which will ultimately affect the company's morale and employee stability. long-term vacancies may cause the company to lose the initiative in market competition and miss development opportunities.

what needs attention is that suitable candidates for general managers must not only have rich industry experience, but also be recognized by regulatory agencies, which is a time-consuming process. however, for some insurance companies, there is still work to be done to improve the corporate governance structure and establish effective decision-making and supervision mechanisms. liu chunsheng said that, for example, the responsibilities of the board of directors, the board of supervisors and the management should be clarified, and effective decision-making and supervision mechanisms should be established; and communication and coordination with shareholders should be strengthened.

in addition to establishing and improving the corporate governance system and planning the talent echelon in advance, it is equally important to establish a reserve talent training plan to ensure that senior vacancies can be quickly filled at critical moments. liu chunsheng said that by establishing an internal talent training system, talents with leadership capabilities can be reserved in advance. at the same time, we should actively expand external talent channels to attract outstanding talents in the insurance industry. we should formulate emergency management plans. during the vacancy of the general manager, we should clarify the responsibilities and powers of the temporary person in charge to ensure the normal operation of the company.

according to industry insiders, the vacancy of general manager positions in insurance companies is not only a superficial problem of talent recruitment, but also a reflection of deep-seated problems such as corporate governance, strategic planning and market trust. "to solve this phenomenon, insurance companies need to start from multiple aspects such as internal governance, talent reserve and market communication, and also need the continuous attention of regulatory authorities to promote the healthy development of the entire insurance industry." zhi peiyuan believes.

beijing business daily reporter hu yongxin