萬國法律事務所

The Financial Supervisory Commission’s Insurance Bureau announced that, starting September 1, there will be new examination rules for new forms of life and personal property insurance.  The new rules, a major relaxation of the former rules, provide that 90% of the new forms of insurance can be sold without prior approval as long as the sales are reported to the Commission within 15 days after being put on the market.  As for the remaining 10% and for other designated forms of insurance, prior application and approval is still required (authorities are required to approve or reject applications within 90 working days after having received them).  The new reporting system is meant to encourage insurance companies to offer innovative insurance policies and take timely advantage of market opportunities.  Overall it is meant to be better for the insurance industry.

The Insurance Bureau has said that if there are no problems with the implementation of the new rules, it may extend the exemption for prior approval to include all new forms of insurance.  The bureau also said that it will be carrying out strict random examinations of the new forms of insurance that are reported for the purposes of protecting consumers.  Those in violation could be punished by having the right to report or apply for new forms of insurance suspended for up to one year.

With respect to the new and specially designated forms of insurance for which prior approval is still required, under the drafts “ Determination Standards for New Forms if Life Insurance Products” and “Determination Standards for New Forms of Personal Property Insurance” that the Life Insurance Association of the ROC made, the new forms will include structured bonds that are new on the market.  They will also include conventional and investment-linked insurance products that are first issued by an individual insurance company, and are non NT dollar-denominated.