The Beijing Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau issued the "Five Notes" for electronic insurance, and the protection of consumer rights will not stop! - Industrial Insurance Network

With the development of information technology, more and more insurance types can be insured electronically; with the prosperity of the Internet insurance business, electronic insurance has gradually replaced paper insurance and has become the mainstream insurance. Way. Electronic insurance enables consumers to independently understand product information through the sales page of the insurance institution's self-operated online platform, and can also complete insurance purchases independently.

While it brings convenience to consumers, it also increases the possibility of insurance disputes and urges regulatory authorities to strengthen business supervision and consumer warnings. The "Internet Insurance Business Supervision Measures" issued by the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission at the end of last year has been implemented on February 1, 2021, strengthening the protection of consumer rights and interests from the perspective of business supervision; this time the Beijing Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau issued the "Five Notes" for electronic insurance. Tips were also given for consumers to protect their legitimate rights and interests.

1. What should consumers pay attention to?

The electronic insurance warning issued by the Beijing Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau this time covers the need to know your qualifications and verify your identity before taking out insurance, not to be tempted by "high interest rates", and those who are taking out insurance to read the insurance terms carefully and inform themselves truthfully. situation, treat electronic signatures with caution, and reconfirm the policy after applying for insurance.

Based on the risk warnings issued by the Banking and Insurance Regulatory Bureau in many places, consumers should be more vigilant during the entire electronic insurance process, including confirming the legal qualifications of the insurance institution and salesperson before applying for insurance, and verifying Choose insurance products based on demand and affordability, correctly understand insurance products (and new products) and other financial products, and understand the terms and content of the insurance contract in detail when applying for insurance (especially disclaimers, obligations of the policy holder and the insured, losses on surrender, etc. Important matters), treat electronic signatures with caution, truthfully fill in insurance information, truthfully inform relevant situations, reconfirm the policy after applying for insurance (including checking the authenticity of the policy and reconfirming the terms), and cooperate with the insurance company in customer return visits, etc.

It should also be noted that personal insurance products with an insurance period of more than one year have a hesitation period; the insurance company will conduct a follow-up visit to the policy holder for a new policy during the hesitation period. Consumers need to learn more about the relevant provisions of the "hesitation period" and protect their legitimate rights and interests accordingly (if they do not receive a follow-up call for a new policy for a long time after receiving the policy, they should contact the insurance company in time to report the problem).

In short, consumers should not ignore links containing insurance information during the electronic insurance application process. Instead, they should check all information carefully. If they have any questions, they can ask the insurance company to ensure that they understand the terms. Correct and prevent damage to interests.

2. What should insurance companies pay attention to?

Generally speaking, the insurer must perform clear instructions, issue policy certificates in a timely manner, keep any information about the insured and the contents of relevant agreements involving insurance clauses confidential, and shall not terminate the insurance contract or pay compensation for non-statutory reasons. and other obligations. Although electronic insurance has changed the way insurance transactions are conducted, it does not exempt the insurer from its obligations, nor does it change the extent of the insurer's performance of its obligations. Especially in the case of electronic insurance, insurance companies must pay special attention to fulfilling their obligations of clear explanation.

Generally speaking, insurance companies will fulfill their obligation to provide clear explanations by asking policyholders to sign an "Insurance Declaration". In the case of electronic insurance, the insurance company first needs to ensure that the "disclaimer clause" in the "Insurance Statement" is blackened, bolded, or uses other obvious signs to indicate it; secondly, the insurance company needs to confirm that the policyholder clicks the "Confirm Reading" button , to avoid the situation where the person who performs the obligation is not the policy holder himself; thirdly, the insurance company needs to improve the electronic insurance signature and identity verification mechanism to avoid the situation where there is a big difference between the electronic signature and the paper handwritten signature; finally, the insurance company should enforce the insurance terms Read the settings or special reminders to facilitate the subsequent burden of proof.

In judicial practice, when hearing electronic policy insurance dispute cases, the People's Court often encounters forged signatures on electronic insurance policies, insurance agents performing online operations on behalf of policyholders, and insurance agents activating on behalf of policyholders. Problems caused by electronic insurance policies, etc. This also reminds insurance companies to do a good job in electronic insurance management and continuously improve the full-process service system such as online underwriting, modification, preservation, surrender, claims settlement and complaint handling.

In addition, insurance companies are also required to follow the relevant regulations of the China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission to conduct electronic return visits, and conduct return visits through various methods such as the Internet and telephone. During the return visit, the identity of the customer should be verified to ensure that the customer is fully informed of the contract in a timely manner after taking out the insurance. Main content: We should also enrich the sources of data information, deepen the application of technology, strengthen the analysis of risk factors in insurance subdivisions, continuously improve the underwriting model, improve the identification and screening capabilities, and strengthen underwriting risk control.

3. What should regulatory authorities pay attention to?

Electronic insurance is essentially a model innovation for traditional insurance, but this form change has brought more complex and more rule loopholes: electronic insurance can easily aggravate the information gap between insurance companies and consumers. Symmetry, consumers who are in an information disadvantage position are prone to losses; electronic insurance increases the possibility of consumers' personal information being stolen and abused, and privacy protection faces greater challenges; in addition, compared with traditional insurance methods, electronic insurance faces more challenges Large legal risks, credit risks and information security risks may threaten the security and stability of the entire insurance market.

For insurance regulatory authorities, protecting consumer rights and interests in accordance with the law is the fundamental purpose of supervision. To this end, regulatory authorities should make up for consumers' information disadvantages, strengthen network security construction, prevent business risks, and on this basis allow consumers to enjoy high-quality insurance products and services.

Focusing on consumers, regulatory authorities should supervise, inspect and evaluate the protection of consumer rights and interests of insurance industry institutions, correct and punish inappropriate behavior in accordance with the law; make overall plans, organize and coordinate consumer publicity and education work in the insurance industry, and establish Improve the insurance industry’s consumer rights protection working mechanism and consumer complaint handling mechanism.

Regarding insurance companies, regulatory authorities should implement the requirements for licensed operations and standardize electronic insurance from the source; prevent insurance companies from misleading propaganda and help consumers choose appropriate insurance products; refine insurance company service standards and urge insurance companies to The company fully considers the convenience of insurance, the effectiveness of risk control, and the timeliness of claims settlement.

From 1.77 billion yuan in 2010 to 269.63 billion yuan in 2019, the scale of Internet insurance has increased more than a hundred times in the past ten years. The rapid development of the Internet insurance business and the hidden dangers of electronic insurance exposed in the process also call on consumers not to give up on the electronic insurance process, insurance companies to fully fulfill their legal obligations during the electronic insurance process, and regulatory authorities to protect the rights and interests of consumers in accordance with the law. .