With the development of information technology, more and more types of insurance can be insured by electronic means; With the prosperity of internet insurance business, electronic insurance has gradually replaced paper insurance as the mainstream insurance method. Electronic insurance enables consumers to know product information independently through the sales page of the self-operated network platform of insurance institutions, and can also complete insurance activities independently.
While bringing convenience to consumers, it also increases the possibility of insurance disputes, and urges the regulatory authorities to strengthen business supervision and consumer warnings. At the end of last year, the Measures for the Supervision of Internet Insurance Business issued by China Banking Regulatory Commission came into effect in February, 20021,which strengthened the protection of consumers' rights and interests from the perspective of business supervision. Beijing Banking Insurance Regulatory Bureau issued "Five Precautions" for electronic insurance, which also gave tips for consumers to safeguard their legitimate rights and interests.
1. What should consumers pay attention to?
The electronic insurance tips issued by Beijing Banking Insurance Regulatory Bureau cover the following aspects: recognizing the qualifications before insurance, not being tempted by "high interest rate", reading the insurance clauses carefully and telling yourself the truth, being cautious about electronic signatures, and reconfirming the policy after insurance.
Combined with the risk warnings issued by the insurance regulatory bureaus of several banks, consumers should be vigilant in the whole process of electronic insurance, including confirming the legal qualifications of insurance institutions and sales personnel before insurance, selecting insurance products according to actual insurance demand and payment ability, and correctly understanding financial products such as insurance products (and new products). Learn more about the terms of the insurance contract (especially the exemption, the obligations of the insured and the insured, the loss of surrender, etc.). ), be cautious about electronic signature, fill in the insurance information truthfully, tell relevant information truthfully, reconfirm the policy after insurance (including checking the authenticity of the policy and reconfirming the terms), and cooperate with the insurance company to do a good job of customer return visit.
In addition, it should be noted that life insurance products with an insurance period of more than one year have a hesitation period; During the hesitation period, the insurance company will pay a new return visit to the insured. Consumers need to know the relevant provisions of the "hesitation period" in detail and safeguard their legitimate rights and interests accordingly (if they have not accepted a new return visit for a long time after receiving the policy, they should contact the insurance company in time to reflect the problem).
In short, in the process of electronic insurance, consumers should not pay attention to the links containing insurance information, but should carefully check all the information. If in doubt, they can ask the insurance company to ensure that they understand the terms correctly and prevent the interests from being damaged.
2. What should insurance companies pay attention to?
Generally speaking, the insurer shall fulfill the clearly stated obligations, issue the insurance policy in time, keep any information of the insured and the contents of relevant agreements involving insurance clauses confidential, and shall not terminate the insurance contract and pay compensation for non-statutory reasons. Although electronic insurance has changed the insurance transaction mode, it does not exempt the insurer from the obligations it should perform, nor does it change the degree of fulfillment of the insurer's obligations. Especially in the case of electronic insurance, insurance companies must pay special attention to fulfilling the obligation of clear explanation.
Generally speaking, an insurance company will fulfill its clearly stated obligations by requiring the insured to sign the insurance application form. In the case of electronic insurance, the insurance company must first ensure that the "exemption clause" is black, bold or prompted by other obvious signs in the insurance declaration; Secondly, the insurance company needs to confirm that the insured clicks the "confirm reading" button to avoid the situation that the object of obligation performance is not the insured himself; Thirdly, insurance companies need to improve the electronic insurance signature and identity verification mechanism to avoid the big difference between electronic signature and paper handwritten signature; Finally, insurance companies should set compulsory reading or special tips for insurance clauses, so as to bear the burden of proof afterwards.
In judicial practice, people's courts often encounter problems such as fraudulent signature of electronic policies, online operation of insurance agents on behalf of policyholders, and activation of electronic policies by insurance agents on behalf of policyholders. This also warns insurance companies to do a good job in electronic insurance management and constantly improve the whole process service system such as online underwriting, correction, preservation, surrender, claims settlement and complaint handling.
In addition, insurance companies also need to conduct return visits through the Internet and telephone in accordance with the relevant provisions of the CBRC on conducting electronic return visits. During the return visit, the identity of the customer should be verified to ensure that the customer can fully understand the main contents of the contract in time after insurance. It is also necessary to enrich the sources of data and information, deepen the application of technology, strengthen the analysis of risk factors in insurance segmentation, constantly improve the underwriting model, improve the ability of identification and screening, and strengthen the risk control of underwriting.
3. What should the regulatory authorities pay attention to?
In essence, electronic insurance is an innovation of traditional insurance mode, but this form of change has brought more complexity and numerous loopholes: electronic insurance is easy to aggravate the information asymmetry between insurance companies and consumers, and consumers in an information disadvantage position are easy to suffer losses; Electronic insurance increases the possibility that consumers' personal information is stolen and abused, and privacy protection is facing great challenges; In addition, compared with traditional insurance methods, electronic insurance faces greater legal risks, credit risks and information security risks, which may threaten the safety and stability of the entire insurance market.
For insurance regulatory authorities, protecting consumers' rights and interests according to law is the fundamental purpose of supervision. To this end, the regulatory authorities should make up for consumers' information disadvantages, strengthen the construction of network security, guard against operational risks, and let consumers enjoy high-quality insurance products and services on this basis.
Taking consumers as the center, the regulatory authorities should supervise, inspect and evaluate the work of insurance institutions to protect consumers' rights and interests, and correct and punish misconduct according to law; Overall planning, organization and coordination of insurance consumer publicity and education, establish and improve the insurance consumer rights protection mechanism and consumer complaint handling mechanism.
Focusing on insurance companies, the regulatory authorities should implement the requirements of licensed operation and standardize electronic insurance from the source; Prevent insurance companies from misleading and help consumers choose appropriate insurance products; Refine the service standards of insurance companies, and urge insurance companies to fully consider the convenience of insurance, the effectiveness of risk control, and the timeliness of claims.
From 65.438+77 billion yuan in 2065.438+00 to 269.63 billion yuan in 2065.438+09, the scale of internet insurance has increased by more than 100 times in the past decade. The rapid development of internet insurance business and the hidden dangers of electronic insurance exposed in this process also appeal to consumers not to take it lightly in the process of electronic insurance. Insurance companies fully fulfill their legal obligations in the process of electronic insurance, and regulatory authorities protect consumers' rights and interests according to law.