Chinanews.com, December 14 According to the website of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, the China Banking Regulatory Commission issued the "Measures for the Supervision of Internet Insurance Business" (hereinafter referred to as the "Measures") on the 14th. The "Measures" stipulate that Internet insurance business should be carried out by legally established insurance institutions , Other institutions and individuals are not allowed to conduct Internet insurance business.
When an insurance institution conducts Internet insurance business, it shall not exceed the scope of business specified in the institution's license (filing form).
Data map: People pass by an insurance company.
Photo by China News Agency reporter Zhang Yun
The “Measures” were adopted at the 11th 2020 committee meeting of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission on September 1, 2020.
It is hereby announced and will come into force on February 1, 2021.
The “Measures” has 5 chapters and 83 articles. The key specifications include: clarify the nature of Internet insurance business, clarify system application and convergence policies; stipulate Internet insurance business operation requirements, strengthen licensed operation principles, define licensed institutions’ self-operated online platforms, and stipulate Operating conditions for licensed institutions, clarify the prohibited behaviors of non-licensed institutions; regulate insurance marketing and publicity, stipulate management requirements and business behavior standards; standardize after-sales service throughout the process, and improve consumer experience; supervise classified by business entities, and stipulate "basic business rules "On the basis of", for Internet insurance companies, insurance companies, insurance intermediaries, and Internet companies’ insurance agency business, "special business rules" have been stipulated; innovate and improve regulatory policies and institutional measures, and make transitional arrangements for policy implementation.
The heads of relevant departments of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission answered reporters’ questions on the "Internet Insurance Business Supervision Measures", as follows:
1. What is the background of the revision of the Measures, what are the principles followed by the revision, and what are the main contents?
With the continuous in-depth application of Internet and other technologies in the insurance industry, Internet insurance business, as a new form of insurance sales and services, has profoundly affected the insurance industry and insurance supervision.
The rapid development of the Internet insurance business also exposed some problems and hidden risks, which brought challenges to the industry and supervision.
In order to regulate the Internet insurance business, effectively prevent risks, protect the legitimate rights and interests of consumers, and improve the level of the insurance industry in serving the real economy and the people's livelihood, the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission revised and promulgated the "Measures."
The revision work of the "Measures" resolutely implements the central spirit and decision-making arrangements, and pays attention to the following working principles: first, problem-oriented, and resolutely implement various risk prevention measures; second, coordinated advancement, and harmonization of the Internet insurance system; third, service Practice, make the regulatory system pragmatic and effective, and improve operability; the fourth is to be cautious and inclusive, and guide the healthy and compliant growth of new business types.
The Measures have 5 chapters and 83 articles, which specifically include general rules, basic business rules, special business rules, supervision and management, and supplementary rules.
The key specifications include: First, clarify the nature of Internet insurance business, clarify system application and convergence policies; second, specify Internet insurance business operating requirements, strengthen licensed operation principles, define licensed institutions’ self-operated online platforms, and specify licensed institutions’ operating conditions , To clarify the prohibited behaviors of non-licensed institutions; the third is to regulate the Internet insurance marketing and publicity, to stipulate management requirements and business behavior standards; the fourth is to regulate the entire process of Internet insurance after-sales service to improve the consumer experience; On the basis of "Basic Business Rules", "special business rules" are stipulated for Internet insurance companies, insurance companies, insurance intermediaries, and Internet companies' insurance agency business; sixth, innovate and improve regulatory policies and institutional measures, and make a transition to policy implementation arrangement.
2. What is the definition of Internet insurance business, and what circumstances does the "Measures" apply to? Regarding the integration of online and offline businesses, how to connect and apply regulatory rules?
The "Measures" clarified the definition of "Internet insurance business" based on the nature and development rules of Internet insurance business, that is, "insurance business activities in which insurance institutions rely on the Internet to conclude insurance contracts and provide insurance services."
The "Measures" stipulate that insurance businesses that meet the following three conditions are Internet insurance businesses: one is that insurance institutions sell insurance products or provide insurance brokerage services through the Internet and self-service terminal equipment; the other is that consumers can self-operate through insurance institutions The sales page of the online platform independently understands product information; third, consumers can independently complete insurance purchases.
The "Measures" stipulates the application method of policy convergence for the situation of channel integration: if the insured completes the insurance product insurance link provided by insurance institutions and their practitioners, they shall also meet the "Measures" and the relevant regulatory requirements of the channel.
For online and offline integration of insurance sales or insurance brokerage business, online and offline regulatory rules apply to their online and offline business activities respectively; if regulatory rules cannot be applied separately, both online and offline regulatory rules and rules apply If they are inconsistent, the principles of compliant operation and benefit to consumers shall be adhered to.
In addition, insurance institutions and their practitioners who use the name of Internet insurance business to conduct offline sales, including practitioners using mobile business tools for face-to-face sales, practitioners collecting insurance information and entering online, etc., shall meet the relevant supervision of their respective channels Provisions, this "Measures" is not applicable.
3. Which institutions can carry out Internet insurance business? What conditions should insurance institutions meet to carry out Internet insurance business? Do I need to apply for a business license or file a business record?
The "Measures" stipulate that Internet insurance business should be carried out by insurance institutions established in accordance with the law, and other institutions and individuals are not allowed to carry out Internet insurance business.
When an insurance institution conducts Internet insurance business, it shall not exceed the scope of business specified in the institution's license (filing form).
The insurance institutions mentioned in the "Measures" include insurance companies (including mutual insurance organizations and Internet insurance companies) and insurance intermediaries.
Insurance intermediaries include insurance agents (excluding individual insurance agents), insurance brokers, and insurance adjusters.
The insurance agents (excluding personal insurance agents) mentioned in the "Measures" include professional insurance agencies, bank-type insurance agencies, and Internet companies that have obtained insurance agency business licenses in accordance with the law.
The "Measures" stipulate the conditions that insurance institutions and their self-operated online platforms should have, including website filing, information systems, security protection, level protection, marketing models, management systems, system construction, and regulatory evaluation.
Insurance institutions can conduct Internet insurance business as long as they meet the conditions stipulated in the Measures, and do not need to apply for business licenses or file business records.
Those who do not meet the prescribed conditions are not allowed to carry out Internet insurance business, and those that have already started shall immediately stop selling insurance products or provide insurance brokerage services through the Internet. After rectification, those who meet the prescribed conditions can resume relevant Internet insurance business.
In addition, the "Measures" strengthened supervision during and after the event, and made provisions in terms of business scope, insurance restrictions, regulatory measures, and legal liabilities.
4. What are the requirements for whether banks can operate Internet insurance business?
According to the "Measures", bank insurance agencies can operate Internet insurance business.
In addition to meeting the general requirements of the “Measures” for insurance institutions, bancassurance agencies operating part-time insurance agencies must also meet specific requirements for banks: one is to sell through electronic banking platforms; the other is to meet the requirements of banking The China Insurance Regulatory Commission’s regulatory provisions on the business area of electronic banking; third, the Internet insurance business must not be delegated to other institutions or individuals.
5. What are the requirements for the insurance agency business of Internet companies?
Internet companies’ insurance agency business must meet the general requirements of the Measures for insurance institutions.
In addition, the "Measures" also strengthened the following requirements for the insurance agency business of Internet companies: First, it requires licensed operation, and Internet companies should obtain a license to operate insurance agency business; second, they should have strong compliance management capabilities and scenarios And traffic advantage, information technology strength, etc.; third is to achieve independent business operation, and to achieve business isolation and risk isolation from the main business; fourth is not to delegate Internet insurance business to other institutions or individuals; fifth is to strengthen consumer rights protection Establish a quick response mechanism for after-sales service.
6. In practice, there are situations in which non-insurance institutions are playing side-by-sides and are suspected of illegally operating Internet insurance business. What are the provisions of the Measures?
The "Measures" stipulate that Internet insurance business should be carried out by insurance institutions established in accordance with the law, and other institutions and individuals are not allowed to carry out Internet insurance business.
The “Measures” clearly stipulate the behavior boundaries of non-insurance institutions, stipulating that non-insurance institutions shall not carry out Internet insurance business, including but not limited to the following commercial activities: one is to provide insurance product consulting services; the other is to compare insurance products and premium trial calculations The quotation is compared; the third is to design insurance plans for the insured; the fourth is to handle the insurance procedures; the fifth is to collect premiums.
7. How does the "Measures" regulate self-operated online platforms and what is the meaning of strictly defining self-operated online platforms?
In order to effectively implement the principle of licensed operation, the "Measures" has made a strict and clear definition of self-operated network platforms: self-operated network platforms refer to networks established by insurance institutions for the purpose of operating Internet insurance business, independently operated and enjoying complete data rights. platform.
Only the online platform established by the head office of an insurance institution is a self-operated online platform. The online platforms established by branches of insurance institutions and non-insurance institutions that have equity, personnel and other related relationships with insurance institutions are not self-operated online platforms and cannot operate the Internet. Insurance business.
The self-operated network platform is the only carrier for insurance institutions to operate Internet insurance business, and it is also the main starting point for strengthening supervision.
The Measures strictly define self-operated online platforms and require customers to apply for insurance pages to belong to licensed institutions' self-operated online platforms, mainly for the purpose of comprehensively strengthening the licensed business philosophy and consolidating the main responsibility of insurance institutions.
In addition, it also helps to solve the problem of insurance institutions in obtaining customer information, helps eliminate the retention of premiums, balances market forces, and controls channel costs, helps reduce misleading sales, promotes consumer education, and guarantees the long-term stable development of the industry.
8. Can employees of insurance institutions engage in Internet insurance business? Regarding Internet insurance marketing and promotion, how does the Measures stipulate for insurance institutions and their employees?
At present, employees of insurance institutions generally participate in Internet insurance marketing and promotion through WeChat Moments, Official Accounts, WeChat groups, Weibo, short videos, live broadcasts, etc., in order to standardize marketing and publicity behaviors, ensure market stability, promote employment, and resume production. The Measures stipulate that employees of insurance institutions can carry out Internet insurance marketing and promotion after being authorized by their affiliated institutions.
The "Measures" strengthened the main responsibility of insurance institutions, and imposed strict regulations on practitioners' Internet insurance marketing and promotion.
The “Measures” strengthened the management responsibilities of licensed institutions and put forward relevant requirements: First, insurance institutions should establish a series of management systems for Internet insurance marketing and publicity; second, insurance institutions should conduct marketing and publicity information review, monitoring, and inspection, and undertake cooperation The third is that insurance institutions should register and manage practitioners in accordance with relevant regulatory regulations, and identify their qualifications for Internet insurance business; fourth, insurance institutions and their practitioners should carefully send information about Internet insurance products to consumers.
In addition, the "Measures" require Internet insurance marketing and publicity activities to comply with the "Advertising Law", financial marketing and publicity and relevant regulations of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission.
Regarding the marketing and promotion of practitioners, the "Measures" clarified specific requirements: First, practitioners should carry out Internet insurance marketing and promotion within the scope of authorization of insurance institutions; second, marketing and promotion content issued by practitioners should be uniformly produced by their insurance institutions; third, Practitioners should indicate the full name of the insurance institution and personal name, practice certificate number and other information in a prominent position on the marketing promotion page.
Regarding the content of marketing and publicity, the "Measures" also made targeted provisions: first, the marketing and publicity activities should follow the principles of clearness, accuracy, easy-to-understand, and conformity to public order and good customs; second, the content of marketing and publicity should be consistent with the terms of the insurance contract; It is the marketing promotion page that should accurately describe the main functions and characteristics of insurance products.
9. What insurance products can insurance institutions sell through the Internet? Are there restrictions on the operating area?
Internet insurance is developing rapidly, and the regulatory system needs to reserve policy space for future development. Articles 52 and 58 of the Measures set out principles for insurance products and business areas sold through the Internet. The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission will According to the development stage of the Internet insurance business and the service guarantee needs of different insurance products, separately stipulate the insurance coverage and relevant conditions for insurance institutions to sell insurance products through the Internet.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission will issue relevant policies in a timely manner to ensure that the policies are effectively connected.
10. What are the requirements for after-sales service of internet insurance business in the "Measures"?
The "Measures" put forward operating requirements and service standards for the entire process of after-sales service of Internet insurance business: First, insurance institutions are required to allocate sufficient service resources to ensure follow-up service capabilities commensurate with product characteristics and business scale; second, insurance institutions are required to be adequate Disclosure of information to protect consumers' right to know, and inform consumers whether after-sales service can be implemented online in the whole process; the third is to comprehensively regulate after-sales service, and propose whole-process service standards such as correction, preservation, surrender, claim settlement and complaint handling. Improve the consumer experience.
11. How does the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission and its dispatched offices divide the supervision of Internet insurance business?
The "Measures" stipulate that the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission is responsible for the formulation of the Internet insurance business supervision system, and the China Banking Regulatory Commission and its dispatched offices implement daily monitoring and supervision of the Internet insurance business in accordance with the supervision of insurance institutions.
Complaints or reports on the Internet insurance business shall be handled by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau in the place where the complainant or reporter usually resides in accordance with relevant regulations.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau may authorize subordinate agencies to carry out relevant supervision work of Internet insurance business.
One of the characteristics of Internet insurance business is that the operation breaks through the geographical restrictions. It is very common for consumers to live inconsistently with the location of the insurance institution.
For Internet insurance business complaints or reports, the "Measures" clearly lay the responsibility of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau where the complainant or reporter usually resides, so that complaints and reports can be dealt with at the first time, and it is convenient for consumers to communicate with the supervisory authority. Protect consumers' rights and interests, and at the same time force insurance institutions to improve their products and services by increasing the cost of violations of laws and regulations.
In addition, compared with traditional insurance business, Internet insurance business can use the information system's version management, system log, hierarchical storage and other functions to more easily realize the traceability of sales behavior, which also provides convenience for the regulatory authorities to investigate and collect evidence in different places.
12. What are the provisions of the Measures in preventing and deflating risks?
The Internet insurance business has a wide range of stakeholders, many models, and complex problems. It promotes the development of the industry and brings new risks and new challenges to supervision.
The “Measures” put the prevention and resolution of risks in the first place: First, adhere to the principle of “institutions with licenses and personnel with certificates”, clearly define the rights and obligations of licensed institutions, compact the main responsibilities, and clarify non-insurance institutions in the form of a negative list. Prohibited behavior; second is to clarify the definition of self-operated online platforms, requiring that the insured page must belong to the self-operated online platform of insurance institutions; third, to strengthen information disclosure requirements to protect consumers' right to know; fourth, to strengthen requirements for network security and customer information protection; The fifth is to establish a regulatory information system, strengthen information reporting, and improve the timeliness, effectiveness and pertinence of supervision.
13. What are the provisions on the protection of consumer rights in the Measures?
Consumer rights protection is the starting point and end of financial insurance supervision and the foundation for the healthy development of Internet insurance business.
The revision of the Measures implements the concept of protecting consumer rights and interests throughout the entire process: First, it stipulates that Internet insurance sales or insurance brokerage activities cannot be carried out if risks cannot be effectively controlled and the quality of after-sales service cannot be guaranteed; the second is to strengthen information disclosure requirements and increase information disclosure Content, to protect consumers' right to know; third, the insurance application page must belong to the insurance institution’s self-operated network platform to ensure transaction security; fourth, the insurance institution is required to establish a full-process service system for pre-sales, in-sales and after-sales to improve consumer satisfaction; Fifth, insurance institutions are required to establish a customer information protection system to build a customer information protection system that covers the entire life cycle to prevent information leakage; sixth, for the convenience of consumers, complaints or reports on Internet insurance business are often resident by the complainant or reporter The local banking and insurance regulatory bureau shall handle the matter in accordance with relevant regulations.
14. What are the provisions of the "Measures" in protecting innovations in Internet insurance?
Internet insurance is not only a sales channel, but also a business method and service form. The Measures encourage the integration of insurance with new technologies such as the Internet, big data, and blockchain on the basis of standardizing operations, preventing risks, and drawing red lines. Internet insurance serves the real economy and the people’s livelihood at a higher level: First, encourage the development of insurance products that meet the characteristics of the Internet economy and serve diversified protection needs, so that insurance can be reasonably integrated with scenarios and technologies; the second is to encourage the expansion of data information sources and the use of data Mining, machine learning and other technologies improve the accuracy of insurance business risk identification and disposal; third, support insurance institutions to improve the level of transparency in sales and services, and provide consumers with online evaluation functions on self-operated network platforms to provide consumers with reference; The fourth is to support insurance intermediaries to carry out services such as risk management, health management, case investigation, disaster prevention and loss reduction and other services based on innovative applications of data; the fifth is to promote regulatory agencies to innovate regulatory concepts and methods on the basis of effectively preventing market risks, and establish and improve adaptation A new type of supervision mechanism with the characteristics of Internet insurance.