20 P&C insurers ordered to rectify problematic products

The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission said 20 property & casualty insurance companies have been ordered to stop using problematic products and make rectifications. Among them, 11 underwriters were banned from filing new protection plans for three to six months.

To standardize product development and management among general insurance firms and protect the rights and interests of policyholders, the top industry watchdog recently conducted an off-site inspection of the terms and rates of 1,500 policies that have been filed for regulation, including homeowners insurance, liability insurance and temporary health insurance plans.

Regulators found there were unclear clauses over insurance coverage which exempted or reduced the liability of the insurers.

Some short-term health cover misused concepts like "automatic renewal" or "lifetime limit" for long-term protection, while some clauses related to health insurance or liability insurance even referred to standards for disabled assessment that have been abolished.

Some medical cover clauses were found to not distinguish whether the insured has social medical insurance or not.

As for the insurance rate, some underwriters did not clearly define the conditions for further adjustment, and consumers will be unaware of the rationality for the adjustment.