China's first insurance intermediary association founded

Approved by Shenzhen Regulatory Bureau of the CIRC and Shenzhen Civil Affairs Bureau, Shenzhen Insurance Intermediary Association was founded according to the official website of China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC). The association held its founding conference on September 1, during which Wu Xiaoping, deputy chairman of the CIRC delivered an important speech. The founding of the association is a sign that the insurance market in Shenzhen is growing mature, he said, and it is a milestone in the development of the insurance industry.

After reviewing briefly the development of reform on insurance industry he said the development of insurance intermediaries is facing a rare opportunity. The system reform of insurance companies should pursue a path of specialized and intensive operation. The operation focus should be put on core business such as product development and asset management as well as raising the insurance awareness of the whole society and consolidating service demand for risk prevention and risk management in order to provide wide room for the development of insurance intermediary industry. They should grasp this opportune occasion to further accelerate the development of insurance intermediary industry and establish a specialized insurance intermediary market with a reasonable structure, function complementarity, high credibility and good quality.

Wu pointed out that the development of insurance intermediary industry should on the one hand pay attention to the construction of credibility and give play to its industrial advantages on the other. Insurance intermediaries are the bridge and ties linking insurance companies and insurance applicants. The intermediaries must, based on credibility, build up a credible image of the insurance industry together with the insurance companies. The value of insurance intermediaries is rooted in deepening of work division in the insurance market, in the ability to provide more specialized service, in reducing the cost of insurance transaction and raising the resource allocation efficiency of the insurance market. Specialized service is the core competence of insurance intermediaries.

Wu asked the insurance intermediary association to first stick to servicing the members, helping the members obtaining the maximum and long-term interests and gaining the support and backup of the members. Second, they should frame service standards for the industry and build up a credible industry image. They should advocate and organize the framing of technical specifications, service standards, professional ethics and conduct criteria for insurance intermediary institutions in order to direct the market toward standardization and maturation. Third, they should strengthen the management and qualification training of personnel engaged in the industry. Efforts may be spent on exploring and establishing unified and effective personnel-flowing management system, strengthening industrial information sharing and organizing trainings on professional ethics, legal and professional knowledge and marketing techniques. Forth, they should enhance communication and promote the development of the industry. They should organize the communication and cooperation among the members, between the members and insurance companies and between the members and overseas insurance colleagues, to bring about a joint development.

As learned the development of Shenzhen insurance intermediaries is in leading position in China. Until now Shenzhen has had 49 insurance intermediary institutions, of which 13 are insurance brokers, 10 are insurance surveyors, adjusters and assessors and 26 are insurance agencies. As the strength of the insurance intermediary industry is growing stronger and their specialization is increasing, cry in the market for forming an independent insurance intermediary industry organization is becoming increasingly stronger. Shenzhen Insurance Intermediary Association was born against such a background.

Present at the meeting are about 300 people such as officials with the CIRC, leaders from the Shenzhen government, Shenzhen Civil Affairs Bureau and Shenzhen Financial Service Office as well as representatives from Insurance Association of China, concerned industrial associations in Shenzhen, insurance companies stationed in Shenzhen, Shenzhen insurance intermediary companies and branches of insurance companies.

By People's Daily Online