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Structural adjustment of the international insurance industry and the development of my country’s insurance industry
2006-4-710:23 I want to correct the error in large, medium and small printing
1. International Structural adjustment of the insurance industry
In recent years, the business environment of the world insurance industry has undergone tremendous changes. This change is highlighted in the following aspects:
First, the economy Globalization has brought tremendous competitive pressure. Driven by the wave of economic globalization, the already indifferent business boundaries in the financial field have become more ambiguous. Financial institutions in various countries operate products outside their field through mergers, establishment of holding companies, affiliated companies, formation of financial groups, joint ventures, etc. has been very common. The most prominent one is that commercial banks use their huge business network advantages to aggressively attack the insurance field, especially the life insurance field, to seize market share.
Second, the aging of the population not only creates a huge potential insurance market, but also puts forward higher requirements for the preservation and appreciation of insurance funds.
Third, technological progress has brought about continuous innovation in financial products. Since the 1990s, the rapid development of high-tech, represented by electronic communication technology, computers and Internet technology, has not only reduced transaction costs and saved time, but also expanded the potential for comprehensively providing various financial services, allowing financial institutions to The combination of traditional financial services in this industry with other financial services makes it possible to provide a package of services, creating conditions for financial product innovation.
Fourth, the deterioration of the natural environment and the significant increase in the risk of catastrophes. Due to the excessive expansion of human activities and the predatory development of natural resources, the human living environment has continued to deteriorate. The frequency and severity of various natural disasters are increasing, and problems such as soil erosion, climate warming, earthquakes, floods, and storms are becoming more and more serious.
With the above changes as a background, the international insurance industry has accelerated structural adjustment.
(1) The integration of the insurance industry and other financial services industries has further accelerated. Under the pressure of financial liberalization and increasing competition in the financial industry, the insurance industry has expanded production and operations through mergers and acquisitions within the industry. scale, effectively reducing and controlling production and operation costs, allowing enterprises to concentrate their advantages. On the other hand, through the integration with other financial services industries such as banks, asset management industries, and securities industries, we can enhance competitiveness and provide consumers with services including the establishment of subsidiaries, acquisitions and mergers, joint ventures, financial groups, and shareholding companies. , comprehensive financial services including signing joint venture agreements...
With the integration of the insurance industry and other financial service industries, the service scope of the insurance industry has been greatly expanded. At present, large insurance groups are developing in the direction of "financial supermarkets". They operate not only life insurance business, non-life insurance business, but also reinsurance business. They can also provide asset management, credit card, securities underwriting, securities brokerage and other services. It can be said that except for the management of deposit business and payment methods, life insurance companies have been involved in all banking businesses.
It is worth mentioning that in the integration of the insurance industry and other financial services industries, the government's relaxation of regulations on separate operations is an important policy factor. In order to safeguard public interests, protect consumers, ensure full competition and ensure the stability of the financial system, the basic framework of traditional financial supervision is to implement separate operations and supervision of the banking, securities and insurance industries. However, since the 1970s, the above-mentioned strict separation of financial regulatory models has been loosened. In recent years, with the continuous development of various forms of part-time operations, the principle of separate supervision at the policy level is disintegrating, and some governments have begun to adjust the regulatory framework. For example, the principle of strict separation of industries in Japan's financial industry was modified in the new financial bill. The United States has passed a new bill that explicitly allows banks, insurance and securities industries to compete in each other's markets. It is certain that under the new regulatory framework, the pace of integration of the insurance industry and other financial services industries will be further accelerated.
(2) Insurance products continue to innovate, and insurance structure adjustments accelerate. Due to the rapid development of financial innovation in the financial market, new financial instruments such as money market funds are attractive for their flexibility and expected high returns. a large number of individual investors. Compared with new financial products, traditional life insurance products that lack flexibility are far inferior. Under this circumstance, in order to enhance the competitiveness with other financial institutions and reduce the interest rate risk of life insurance operations, life insurance companies have begun to develop new insurance types and create new insurance products. This type of life insurance product innovation has the following characteristics: First, it increases the flexibility of life insurance products. It has changed the term characteristics of traditional life insurance, making it easier to terminate the life insurance contract; it has changed the fixed and periodic characteristics of traditional premium payment, making premium payment more flexible. Second, the new products highlight savings and profitability, putting forward higher requirements for life insurance investment. The new product highlights the savings nature of life insurance and emphasizes the savings (financial) factor of life insurance policies, making life insurance policies more valuable for investment. New products make life insurance policies more profitable through more efficient investments. The third is the separation of insurance and savings. The savings factor in traditional life insurance products is considered a by-product of paying equitable premiums, and savings and insurance are inseparable in an insurance contract. The savings factor in new products is usually considered to be a more independent part of the policy. Savings income is directly related to premiums and investment income. The higher the investment rate of return, the higher the premium "savings interest rate".
Since non-life insurance products have a shorter term and are not as savings-friendly as life insurance products, innovation is subject to objective restrictions. Competition among non-life insurance companies is mainly reflected in product prices and service quality, rather than product differences. However, with the increase in catastrophe risks and the emergence of new risks accompanying technological advancement, there are still some new insurance products being launched, such as World Cup football insurance, mad cow disease death insurance, Internet insurance, etc.
(3) Adjustment of insurance organization forms The current organizational structure adjustment of foreign insurance companies is highlighted in the demutualization of mutual insurance companies. An important motivation for the demutualization of insurance companies is to obtain equity capital and other financing channels, such as convertible corporate bonds, warrants, preferred shares, etc. As consolidation in the financial services industry accelerates, insurance companies have an increasing need for capital growth and capital investment. The main source of insurance company equity capital growth is retained earnings. When retained earnings are insufficient, capital must be drawn from the capital market. Mutual companies can obtain funds through debt, but access to equity capital is subject to great restrictions. Joint-stock companies have all public market financing options, and it is much more convenient for mutual companies to raise funds in the capital market after demutualization. Another important reason for the non-mutualization of insurance companies is the flexibility advantage of the joint-stock company structure. By adopting a holding company structure, insurance companies can bypass the restrictions imposed by insurance regulatory authorities on insurance companies' non-insurance businesses; they can also conduct intra-industry mergers and acquisitions without reducing statutory earnings.
(4) Adjustment of insurance operation and management methods Due to the application of high and new technologies in the insurance industry, the operation and management level and operation and management efficiency of the insurance industry have been greatly improved; at the same time, the structure and tradition of the insurance market have The insurance operation and management methods have had a strong impact. In terms of insurance marketing, with the popularization of home computers and consumers' emphasis on the efficiency of insurance services, new marketing methods such as direct sales by telephone and online sales have developed rapidly. The American Association of Independent Insurers mentioned in the "Insurance Trends and Forecasts in the 21st Century" survey report that new technologies, especially the Internet, will lead the insurance industry to a new revolutionary development process. In the next 10 years, the operations of insurance companies will be 31% of corporate insurance and 37% of personal insurance policy sales will be conducted through the Internet.
Another change in insurance marketing is the massive increase in banks selling insurance. Among the new distribution methods in the insurance industry, bancassurance, the method of selling insurance policies through banks, is very successful in developed European and American insurance industries. In France, Spain, Sweden and other countries, premiums realized through bank insurance sales account for 60% of the total life insurance market business and 5-10% of the total non-life insurance market business. Insurance companies cooperate with banks to take advantage of the bank's strong distribution network When selling general insurance products, you can also bundle insurance with bank loans, and bundle insurance with credit card services, so as to achieve the effect of killing two birds with one stone.
In terms of insurance company management, the advancement of high and new technologies has also brought about great changes. Computer networks provide very convenient conditions for insurance companies to operate and collaborate on a global scale. In 1994, the London insurance market began to apply the electronic reinsurance system (ESP), which greatly improved the speed of insurance transactions. The computerized value-added service network (PINET) pioneered by Munich Re has promoted the automation of global reinsurance transactions. In terms of internal management, insurance companies have generally implemented computerization of internal management and networking of internal contacts. From the processing of documents and data in various departments within the company to the transfer of information between departments, from corporate decision-making to underwriting, claims and other aspects, from insurance marketing to automated processing in fund utilization, all are inseparable from the application of computer systems. It can be said that computers and computer networks have covered all aspects of the internal management of insurance companies.
The changes in the operation and management methods of the international insurance industry are also reflected in the innovation of risk management methods due to the increase in catastrophe risks. Since the 1980s, major disasters with losses exceeding US$5 million have occurred frequently in the world, causing huge losses to insurance companies operating property insurance. Catastrophe risks have increasingly become an important issue of concern to the insurance industry. As catastrophe risks continue to increase, insurance companies, in addition to continuing to use general risk diversification methods such as increasing capital, increasing reserve withdrawals, and increasing reinsurance ratios, have also adopted risk securitization, catastrophe futures, etc. New ways of risk management.
II. Some thoughts on the development of my country’s insurance industry
Compared with developed countries, my country’s insurance industry is still in the early stages of development. The above-mentioned structural adjustments have a certain impact on the development of my country’s insurance industry. Some have just appeared, and some have not yet been seen. However, as my country's accession to the World Trade Organization approaches, the pace of opening up of my country's insurance market will continue to increase. The above-mentioned adjustments in the international insurance industry will definitely have an impact on the development of my country's insurance industry. Therefore, the top priority is to accelerate the development of my country's insurance industry. Meet the challenge.
(1) Relaxation of controls.
Strengthening Domestic Market Competition Judging from the development trend of international insurance supervision, deregulation has become the mainstream. Deregulation is first manifested in the relaxation of access conditions for the insurance market; secondly, it is manifested in the relaxation of the business scope of insurance market entities. The integration of the insurance industry and other financial services industries mentioned above reflects this regulatory change; and thirdly, it is manifested in the relaxation of the business scope of insurance market entities. The core of international insurance supervision has shifted from comprehensive supervision to solvency supervision, and most countries are gradually liberalizing insurance rates.
This international deregulation means that the global insurance market will be more open and the integration process of the insurance market will be further accelerated.
The guiding ideology of deregulation is to encourage and promote competition. Judging from the situation in our country, due to the strict control of the insurance field in the past, the number of insurance companies was too small, the business fields were too narrow, the business methods were lacking, and the corporate management level was low and the efficiency was too low. If things go on like this, it will be difficult for my country's insurance industry to face the challenges of opening up to the outside world. In order to improve the competitiveness of my country's insurance industry, the government must relax controls on market access, business scope and insurance products, and encourage innovation in insurance products while ensuring market order. Actively encourage and promote competition among insurance companies.
(2) Improve the level of insurance supervision.
Integrate supervision methods and methods with international practices as soon as possible. Due to the relatively late development of my country’s insurance industry, the Insurance Law promulgated in 1995 still needs to be improved, and relevant supporting regulations have not yet been fully formulated. The China Insurance Regulatory Commission was established not long ago and has insufficient regulatory experience. , the insurance industry self-discipline is being established and other reasons, the current insurance supervision is still at a low level. The main content of insurance supervision is the supervision of terms and rates. The internationally popular solvency supervision is basically blank in our country. my country's accession to the World Trade Organization is just around the corner, and the entry of multinational insurance companies that also operate life insurance, non-life insurance and other financial services will further increase the difficulty of my country's insurance supervision. Therefore, our country’s insurance supervision system should be strengthened and improved as soon as possible. First, we must establish an insurance supervision mechanism with solvency as the core and establish a set of solvency indicator systems to supervise insurance companies; secondly, we must strengthen the supervision of domestic and foreign-funded insurance companies, strictly review and approve them, and through international alliances, ensure their repayment ability to conduct effective supervision.
(3) Accelerate the development of investment business and strive to improve the efficiency of insurance investment.
Affected by traditional insurance thinking, my country's insurance theory and practice circles have long-term one-sided focus on the protection function of insurance and neglect of the financial function of insurance, resulting in the insurance industry long-term relying on the insurance business to walk on "one leg" and the development of insurance investment. Quite backward. Specifically, the scale of insurance investment is small and the utilization rate of insurance funds is low; the structure of insurance investment is unreasonable and the methods of insurance investment are restricted; the management of insurance investment is unscientific and the investment efficiency is not high; the supervision of insurance investment has too many restrictions and lacks flexibility, etc. aspect. The current development situation of my country's insurance investment is very unsuitable for the development trend of the international insurance industry. As competition in the insurance business intensifies, insurance marginal profits have become very small, and insurance investment will become the main source of profits in the insurance industry. Insurance investment is the basis for insurance product innovation. Without investment, developing new products such as variable life insurance and universal life insurance would be impossible. Facing the competitive pressure from multinational insurance groups with rich investment experience, the development of insurance investment in my country must be accelerated. To this end, we should first try to broaden insurance investment channels. When the internal control mechanisms of insurance companies are basically perfect, restrictions on access to insurance investment methods will be gradually relaxed to allow insurance companies to participate in all investment tools in the financial market. Secondly, in terms of investment supervision, a relatively flexible and flexible supervision mechanism should be adopted. On the one hand, in order to prevent excessive concentration of investment by insurance companies, proportional restrictions are placed on different investment methods and individual investments; on the other hand, a certain degree of flexibility is retained in the proportional restrictions, and certain limits can be stipulated. Free investment ratio, so that insurance companies with adequate capital can develop an investment portfolio that is more suitable for them. Thirdly, insurance companies should strengthen investment management and conduct internationally popular asset and liability management of insurance investments.
(4) Encourage mergers and reorganizations.
Support the growth of large insurance companies and insurance groups with complete operating mechanisms and advanced operating and management technologies. A country’s insurance strength and competitiveness in the international insurance market are mainly reflected in the strength of large insurance companies and insurance groups. . Strong insurance companies are also the main force competing against foreign multinational insurance companies. In order to cultivate China's insurance industry, it is necessary to encourage insurance companies to conduct mergers and reorganizations and improve mechanisms based on market mechanisms through policy guidance.
(5) Accelerate the innovative development of the insurance industry and improve the structure of insurance products.
Innovation is the lifeblood of the insurance industry. Without innovation, the development of the insurance industry will stagnate. Innovation in the insurance industry includes innovation in organizational methods, product innovation, marketing method innovation, management method innovation, and many other aspects, among which product innovation is the most important. At present, my country's insurance products are similar, insurance institutions are unreasonable, and market segmentation is not obvious. The marketing method is mainly agent sales. The management method is extensive and inefficient.
In terms of insurance marketing and management, we can widely carry out internationally accepted bank insurance, try online insurance, promote and sell insurance products through the Internet, and strengthen risk management technology. In terms of product design and innovation, we must first change the current situation of unclear insurance market segmentation, design different insurance types for different insurance objects, and meet people's multi-faceted and multi-level insurance needs. China's huge rural elderly population basically has no pension insurance. How to open up the vast rural market is a big problem that needs to be solved urgently. It is necessary to subdivide insurance responsibilities, adjust insurance rates, and reduce insurance costs.
In the current third-party liability insurance in China's auto insurance market, the risk liability classification is too simple, using only two classification variables: vehicle purpose and model, while internationally, 5-8 classification variables are usually used, including the driving area of ??the vehicle, driving Multiple variables such as employee age and gender can be used to charge different rates for different combinations of variables, which is both fair and avoids adverse selection. Secondly, we must carry out insurance innovation, introduce new Western insurance types, and transform them to suit our country's characteristics. In terms of insurance organizational forms, you can try some other organizational forms such as insurance cooperatives.