CBIRC’s New Policy on Open of the Insurance Intermediary Market

On 17 December 2021 CBIRC issued a Notice on further open of the insurance intermediary market. The Notice is as simple as containing only three articles. To brief, they are,
1.to refrain from enforcing the restrictions on setting a foreign- invested insurance broker body in China. The previous requirements on that the investor of a a foreign- invested insurance broker body should have a running record of 30 years in any state-members of WTO, have set a representative office for 2 years in China, and have total assets amounting no less than USD 200 million at the end of the year before applying to set a foreign- invested insurance broker body.
2.To allow foreign insurance groups and domestic foreign-invested insurance groups to invest insurance intermediaries.
3.Foreign insurance intermediaries should still get relevant permission or register relevant business with CBIRC as required by relevant laws and regulations.
Insurance intermediaries include insurance broker, insurance agent and surveyor/adjuster.
CBIRC has different regulations on setting and operation of insurance broker, insurance agent and surveyor/adjuster.
The Notice does not mean it is easy to set an insurance broker body. Current regulation on insurance broker still require investors to pay up a minimum register capital in amount of RMB 50,000,000 (appx. USD 7.8 million) for setting a broker with a business permission not limiting to a province; and a minimum register capital in amount of RMB 10,000,000 (appx. USD 1.5 million) for setting a broker with a business permission limiting to the province where it applies to set, among other requirements.
See:http://www.cbirc.gov.cn/cn/view/pages/ItemDetail.html?docId=1024422&itemId=928 for the full context of the Notice.