The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has moved to lower restrictions on the entry of foreign insurance brokerage companies.
The CBIRC recently issued the “Notice of Clarifying Measures for the Opening of the Insurance Intermediary Market”, which aims to further clarify the relevant measures for the opening of the insurance intermediary market, and relax the access conditions for foreign insurance intermediary institutions.
The Notice contains three articles. The first of these has a focus on substantially removing restrictions on the entry of foreign insurance brokerage firms, and the removal of required shareholders’ operating years’, total assets and so on.
The second article looks to further “lower the entry threshold for foreign insurance intermediaries and allow foreign insurance groups Insurance intermediary institutions invested and established by companies and domestic foreign-funded insurance group companies operate related insurance intermediary businesses.”
And finally, article three notes that insurance intermediaries will apply the relevant provisions of the “licensing before certification” policy in accordance with the reform requirements of “delegating management and service”.
The country is looking to build a new insurance intermediary market system, with improvements to the service level of its insurance intermediary market, and to better serve the national economy and social development.
