What’s new: China’s banking and insurance regulator is stepping up scrutiny of the nation’s online insurance platforms, further expanding the government’s crackdown on the internet sector.
The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) ordered insurers to curb improper marketing and pricing practices and step up user privacy protection, the commission said Wednesday in a notice on carrying out rectification work for online insurance violations.
Insurers were ordered to conduct self-checks, make immediate corrections and hold responsible personnel accountable. Local CBIRC bureaus will select for further inspection insurers with prominent problems that fail to conduct serious self-checks, the agency said.
The background: ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co. Ltd., China's first internet-only insurer, was fined 1.45 million yuan ($223,800) for deceiving policyholders, breaking the limits of insurance premiums and compiling false statements and data.
In 2019, the CBIRC received 19,900 complaints from internet insurance consumers, up 88.6% from the previous year. Among the complaints, misleading sales practices and disguised forced tie-in sales were prominent problems.
Contact reporter Denise Jia (huijuanjia@caixin.com) and editor Bob Simison (bobsimison@caixin.com)
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