Illegal commission return, data fraud and false listing of expenses... In the first month of 2022, the supervision of the insurance industry still maintained a high-pressure situation. On February 6, the reporter of Beijing Business Daily found that 196 fines were issued to the insurance industry in January 2022, with a total fine of more than 43 million yuan, an increase of nearly three times compared with 13 million yuan in January 2021. Among them, 93 tickets involving property insurance companies, with a total penalty amount of more than 25 million yuan; 72 tickets involving life insurance companies, with a penalty amount of more than 16 million yuan.
From the point of view of the reasons for violations, giving the applicant benefits other than the insurance contract, falsely listing the business to obtain handling fees and compiling false information are the "hardest hit areas" to be punished. Insiders pointed out that the strict supervision and risk control of the insurance industry continues without any sign of loosening.
the amount of punishment doubled, and large fines appeared frequently
At the beginning of 2022, the strong supervision situation of the insurance industry continues. On February 6, the reporter of Beijing Business Daily found that in January 2022, the bank insurance regulatory system issued 196 tickets to the insurance industry, with a total penalty of 43.8292 million yuan, a year-on-year increase of 228% compared with 13.352 million yuan in January 2021.
From the perspective of the types of punished companies, property insurance companies still occupy the "big head". In January 2022, property insurance companies received 93 fines, with a total amount of 25.167 million yuan, accounting for 57% of the total fines. The life insurance company received 72 tickets, and the amount of punishment was 16.2322 million yuan. Insurance intermediaries received 18 tickets and were fined a total of 2.05 million yuan. Another 12 tickets were only for individuals and did not punish institutions.
From the point of view of the reasons for violations, giving the applicant benefits other than the insurance contract, falsely listing the business to obtain handling fees and compiling false information are the "hardest hit areas" to be punished.
In terms of the amount of punishment, for the "old and difficult" problems such as false listing of business and preparation of false information, the supervision "made a heavy blow", and large fines frequently appeared. For example, a head property insurance company received the largest single ticket in January due to three violations of "false listing of fees, false listing of fees by non agency business agents, and non-standard internal management", with a total penalty of 1.25 million yuan. In addition, according to the statistics of the reporter of Beijing business daily, 18 branches of insurance companies were fined more than 500000 yuan, and the violations mainly focused on "giving the applicant benefits beyond the insurance contract, untrue business data, and failing to use the recorded insurance terms and insurance rates in accordance with the regulations".
The amount of punishment doubled, large fines appeared frequently, and the punishment of the insurance industry increased in the first month of 2022. What signals did it reveal? Li Wenzhong, deputy director of the insurance Department of Capital University of economics and trade, said that first of all, this shows that the current industry is in a downward cycle, market competition is more intense, and violations in the insurance market have increased. Secondly, the strict supervision and risk control of the insurance industry continues without any sign of loosening.
the chronic disease of returning to domestic servants continues despite repeated prohibitions
Among many violations, giving the applicant benefits other than the insurance contract, that is, the return of commission, has always been a chronic disease of the insurance industry, and the fines involved also account for a large proportion. In January 2022, 33 fines were involved in the violation of "giving benefits beyond the insurance contract to the applicant", with a total fine of 8.607 million yuan, accounting for nearly 20% of the total fine.
For example, CITIC Prudential Life was fined a total of 500000 yuan for providing overseas (Overseas) physical examination services to some customers, and the physical examination related expenses include round-trip air tickets, accommodation, free travel, catering and other acts, which belong to providing other benefits other than those agreed in the insurance contract to the applicant, the insured and the beneficiary, and took away the "No. 1 ticket" issued by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission in 2022. On January 14, 10 branches of PICC Property and casualty insurance in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region were fined 60000 yuan to 810000 yuan respectively by Guangxi banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau for illegal giving of interests other than those agreed in the insurance contract to the applicant.
Why does the return of commission become a chronic disease in the industry? The senior sales director of a life insurance company pointed out that the vast majority of agents have no base salary and no income without signing the bill. The insurance company will have performance assessment every month and every quarter. If it fails to meet the requirements, it can only leave. Under these pressures, it is not difficult to understand that the agent gives some "benefits" to the customer in order to complete the signing.
The problem of product homogeneity is also a major incentive for rebate. The above-mentioned sales director said that the current products on the market, whether savings annuity insurance, serious illness insurance or medical insurance, have little difference in the rate and coverage of each product. A certain product has a good market response and will also attract other companies to imitate. In the "inside volume" environment, the products they sell have no market competitiveness and can only attract customers through private rebates.
What harm will the return of commission bring to the industry? The sales director said that insurance is a long-term product, focusing on guarantee. The guarantee period of insurance products is as short as one year and as long as life. The focus is on renewal and claim settlement in the later stage. Some agents who are greedy for "making fast money" return commission for the purpose of getting commission and completing assessment, which is inconsistent with the guarantee attribute of insurance products and will also lay hidden dangers for later services.
In this regard, the Sales Director suggested that the key to insurance products lies in protection. When applying for insurance, consumers should focus on the products themselves, carefully read the terms and choose the most suitable products for insurance. They should not be confused by temporary interests and choose products that are not suitable for themselves.
the "double punishment system" has become the norm, and people are held accountable for violations
At the same time, the "double punishment system" should be implemented in 2021, which is also worthy of strict accountability by the supervision department.
The reporter of Beijing Business Daily found that among the 196 tickets, 168 tickets also punished executives or directly responsible persons, accounting for 85%. For the violations of individual agents, the CBRC also directly imposed administrative penalties. On January 4, the administrative punishment information disclosed by Jiamusi banking and insurance regulatory branch showed that Zhang was warned for his illegal behavior of "misleading sales of personal agents". It can be seen that while punishing institutions, the investigation of individual responsibility is also moving towards "normalization".
Li Wenzhong said that the illegal operations of insurance companies and insurance intermediaries are organized and implemented by specific personnel of relevant institutions, and are often based on their own interests. Only when people are held accountable can these personnel bear their due responsibilities. Otherwise, when personal interests are inconsistent with institutional interests, institutional interests are often sacrificed, and violations cannot be effectively managed. In other words, accountability is the need to ensure the effectiveness of supervision and promote the high-quality development of the insurance industry.
