In February, CIRC released the Regulation on the Basic Service of the Personal Insurance Business (“the Regulation”).

Background

The insurance industry, especially personal insurance business is experiencing a rapid and healthy development in the recent years. However, the phenomenon that the insurance companies give much weigh on the underwriting rather than the indemnity, has become more and more severe. This phenomenon has impeded the further development of the industry. In order to solve such problem, some local bureau of CIRC drafted related regulations, which have received positive effects, but the differences among the regions also incur problems for insurance companies to establish uniform internal regulations. The promulgation of the Regulation is CIRC’s response to such problems.

Main Contents

1. Telephone Services

The Regulation sets standards from 5 aspects:

(1) The insurance companies and the insurance agents shall make public the service phone number to facilitate the applicant to enjoy the services;

(2) In order to meet the service demands of the applicant, the telephone services shall include, at least, offering counseling, accepting the claims and complaints;

(3) Set forth the time of the telephone services and the shortest time for the manual telephone services to ensure to give prompt response to the applicant;

(4) The insurance companies should keep the record of the telephone and the solutions and results to ensure that the service to the applicant can be traced;

(5) The seller of the insurance should inform the applicant how to check the article of the insurance contract.

2. Paying a return visit

There are three points on this issue.

(1) The insurance company should establish revisiting system and specify which department should be in charge of the revisiting;

(2) The insurance company should pay a return visit to the applicant during the stand-still period of the over-1- year personal insurance product;

(3) Problems such as misrepresentation should be resolved within 15 working days by the staff other than the salesman.

3. Contract preservation

(1) The insurance company should decide whether to accept the retain and should notify the applicant

(2) The insurance company should notify the applicant only once if the applicant’s material is not complete or not correct.

(3) The term of the preservation

4. Indemnity.

(1) The insurance company should instruct how to prepare claim materials;

(2) The insurance company should liabilities within specified period;

(3) The insurance company should notify the insured or the beneficiary if it do not cover the claim;

(4) The insurance company should notify the applicant, the insured or the beneficiary if the disability appraisal is required.

(5) The insurance company should indemnify within specified period.

5. Liabilities to protect the interests of the insured

(1) Protecting the privacy and business secrets of the clients

(2) Set standards on service and supervision system on the service quality. Make annual assess on the service quality.