China's insurance regulator to inspect market irregularities

BEIJING - China's top insurance watchdog will conduct inspections to rectify market irregularities and protect consumer interests, according to an official statement released Monday.

From June to mid-October, local insurance authorities will conduct on-site investigations on 46 branches of 16 insurance entities, as well as seven part-time insurance agents, which had been ranked poorly in terms of customer complaints in the past two years, China Insurance Regulatory Commission said in the statement.

The inspections will focus on violations including fraudulent sales practices, fake or absent customer information, and failure to pay small insurance claims efficiently.

In addition, the insurance regulator will conduct case-by-case investigations into violations reported by the public, and punish typical behavior that hurts customer interests.

"We will never compromise on matters of principle, and we will not disregard violations for any reason," the regulator said in a statement.

The statement also called for toughened supervision on innovative insurance businesses, and said authorities will work to standardize sales behavior not only by insurance firms, but by agents and intermediaries.