CHINA: An Introduction to Insurance (PRC Firms)
2023年中国保险及法律市场观察
2023 Insurance Law Practice Overview of China
I. 前言 INTRODUCTION
近十年来，中国保险业高速发展，已连续多年占据全球第二保费市场份额，持续稳定地为全球保险市场贡献中国力量。2022年，在新冠疫情的反复冲击、资本市场动荡不停的情形下，中国保险行业在备受考验的同时，也随着我国推陈出新的各种利好政策而呈现出新的发展局面，如养老保险、绿色保险的起步以及董责险的持续“走红”。
根据中国银保监会2023年1月11日披露的数据，截止2022年11月，保险公司原保险保费收入达6350亿美元，同比增长4.95%；原保险赔付支出为1920亿美元，同比下降0.60%；保险行业资产总额达到3.9万亿美元；保险行业净资产达到3980亿美元。
Over the past decade, China's insurance industry has grown rapidly and held the second-largest premium market share worldwide for many years, contributing steadily to the global insurance market. In 2022, under the repeated impact of the pandemic and the turbulent capital markets, China's insurance industry has been put to the test and has seen new developments with the introduction of various favourable policies, such as the start of pension insurance and green insurance as well as the continued "popularity" of D&O liability insurance.
Based on the data released by China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission (CBIRC) on its official website on 11 January 2023, as of November 2022, the original insurance premium income of insurance companies reached USD635 billion with an increase of 4.95% year-on-year; the claims and benefits paid out reached USD192 billion with a decrease of 0.60% year-on-year; the total assets of the insurance industry reached USD3.9 trillion; the net assets of the insurance industry reached USD398 billion.
II. 个人养老金制度启动THE LAUNCH OF THE PERSONAL PENSION SYSTEM
随着我国老龄化进程的加快，解决养老问题的对策也在不断推陈出新。2022年是我国个人养老金制度发展的起步之年。4月份，国务院办公厅发布《关于推动个人养老金的发展的意见》，首次公布了完整的制度框架。随后，国家税务总局、银保监会等政府机构陆续发布配套试点规则，从个税优惠政策、养老保险产品等角度支持个人养老保险。
例如，银保监会于12月发布《关于开展养老保险公司商业养老金业务试点的通知》，允许四家养老保险公司在北京等十个省（市）开展试点业务，养老保险公司可以为客户提供账户管理、养老规划、资金管理和风险管理等一站式服务。
同时，保险行业在个人养老金赛道上具备先天优势。保险资金具有规模大、期限长、稳定性强等特性。保险公司通常通过资管子公司来管理养老产品带来的增量资金，且保险资管公司可以在一定程度上克服市场波动，从负债端需求、绝对收益等方面着手，实现投资收益，这与养老金这种长期资金的属性十分匹配。因此，保险资管产品是完善个人养老金融体系不可或缺的支撑力量。
As China's ageing process accelerates, new countermeasures to address the issue of elderly support are being introduced. 2022 is the starting year for the development of China’s personal pension system. In April, the General Office of the State Council released The Opinions on Promoting the Development of Personal Pensions, announcing a complete institutional framework for the first time. Subsequently, the State Administration of Taxation, the CBIRC and other government agencies have issued supporting pilot rules to aid the personal pension system from the perspective of personal tax incentives and pension insurance products.
For example, the CBIRC issued The Notice on the Launch of Pilot Commercial Pension Business of Pension Insurance Companies in December, allowing four pension insurance companies to launch pilot business in ten provinces (cities), including Beijing, where pension insurance companies can provide one-stop services such as account management, pension planning, fund management and risk management to their clients.
In the meantime, the insurance industry has an inherent advantage in the personal pension track. Insurance funds have the characteristics of large scale, long term and stability. Insurance companies usually manage the incremental funds generated by pension products through their asset management subsidiaries. The insurance asset management companies can overcome market volatility to a certain extent and achieve investment returns in terms of liability-side demand and absolute returns, which are well compatible with the features of long-term funds like pensions. Therefore, insurance asset management products are an indispensable support for improving the personal pension financial system.
III. 绿色保险得遇发展良机 THE DEVELOPMENT OF GREEN INSURANCE
2022年，银保监会相继发布《银行业保险业绿色金融指引》和《绿色保险业务统计制度的通知》，在制度层面首次明确了“绿色保险”的定义，要求保险机构在组织管理、制度建设、内控管理与信息披露等方面要关注环境、社会、治理（ESG）风险。并且，保险机构要将ESG评估结果作为成本管理和投资决策的重要依据，根据客户风险情况实行差别费率。
虽然从目前来看，我国绿色保险尚处于发展初级阶段。但伴随我国绿色发展理念与“双碳”目标的执行，以及支持政策的不断完善，绿色保险将迎来难得的发展机遇。
In 2022, the CBIRC issued The Guidelines on Green Finance for the Banking and Insurance Industry and The Notice on the Statistical System of Green Insurance Business, defining "green insurance" for the first time on the institutional level. It requires the insurance institutions to focus on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) risks in the areas of organisational management, system building, internal control management and information disclosure. Moreover, insurance institutions should use the results of ESG assessment as an important basis for cost management and investment decisions, and apply differential rates according to the risk profiles of their clients.
Although green insurance in China is still in the primary stage of development from the current perspective, along with the implementation of China's green development concept and the "double carbon" target, green insurance will have an unique opportunity for development.
IV. 董责险热度持续走高 CONTINUED POPULARITY OF D&O LIABILITY INSURANCE
近三年来，董责险在A股市场持续“走红”。据中国证券报记者不完全统计，2022年共有337家A股上市公司公告购买董责险，投保公司数量同比上升36%。
投保率的高增长一方面是因为新《证券法》创设的代表人诉讼制度，开启了A股证券集体诉讼的先河，大幅提高了A股上市公司及其董监高的诉讼风险。康美药业案、瑞幸咖啡案、飞乐音响案、辉丰股份等中外集体诉讼案件的司法实践将董监高的责任风险演绎到现实中。
另一方面，随着监管部门对信息披露违法违规的查处力度不断加大，仅2022年前11个月就已有56家上市公司因涉嫌信息披露违法违规而被证监会立案调查，这一数量比去年同期高出65%。并且，新《证券法》还加强了对“关键少数”的监管约束，扩大了信息披露义务人的范围，强化了董监高的信息披露义务。涉及信息披露虚假陈述的民事诉讼案件也陡然增多，诉讼风险与董责险需求具有正相关关系。
另外，2022年A股董责险索赔与潜在索赔明显增多，考虑到董责险索赔的长尾特点，预计2023年可能有更多的潜在索赔将转化为实际索赔。随着上市公司面临的诉讼风险上升及董责险赔案增多，董责险费率的上涨也是一个必然趋势。
同时，由于新冠疫情的影响及地缘政治动荡，中国保险市场在去年也感受到了前所未有的压力，由此也引发了更多的保险纠纷，例如营业中断险纠纷、信用及保证保险纠纷、责任险纠纷，甚至共保及再保纠纷。
In the past three years, D&O liability insurance in the A-share market continues to be popular. According to the incomplete statistics from a China Securities Journal reporter, a total of 337 A-share listed companies announced the purchase of D&O liability insurance in 2022, and the number of insured companies rose by 36% year-on-year.
The high increase of insured rate is partly due to the representative litigation system created by the revised PRC Securities Law, which opened the door to A-share securities class actions and significantly increased the litigation risk for A-share listed companies and their directors andsenior executives. The judicial practice of class action litigations such as the Kangmei Pharmaceuticals case, Luckin Coffee case, the Feilo Acoustics case and the Huifeng Joint Stock case, has taken the liability risks of directors and senior executives to reality.
On the other hand, as the regulatory authorities continue to put more effort in investigating and punishing information disclosure irregularities, in the first 11 months of 2022, 56 listed companies have been investigated by the China Securities Regulatory Commission (CSRC) for alleged information disclosure violations, which sees a 65% increase from the same period last year. Furthermore, the revised PRC Securities Law also strengthens the regulatory constraints on the "controlling minority" by expanding the scope of people who have disclosure obligations and strengthening the directors' and senior executives' disclosure obligations. There has been a steep increase in civil litigation cases involving misrepresentation or illegal information disclosure, and there is a positive correlation between litigation risk and demand for D&O liability insurance.
In addition, the number of A-share D&O liability insurance claims and potential claims has increased noticeably in 2022. Given the long-tail nature of D&O liability insurance claims, it is expected that more potential claims may be converted into actual claims in 2023. With the rise in litigation risk faced by listed companies and the increase in D&O liability insurance claims, the increase in D&O liability insurance premiums is an inevitable trend.
In the meantime, due to Covid-19 pandemic and geopolitical turmoil, Chinese insurance market also underwent unprecedented pressure the past year, and those factors brought more insurance disputes in sectors, such as business interruption insurance, credit and guarantee insurance, profession liability insurance, even co-insurance and reinsurance.
V. 结语 Conclusion
总体来讲，中国保险市场和监管正经历着巨大的变化。随着2022年底中国防疫政策的放开和国民经济的回暖，相信2023年中国保险及法律服务市场会迎来更多机遇和挑战。
Generally speaking, Chinese insurance market and regulation are undergoing tremendous changes. With the relaxation of China's epidemic prevention policy and the recovery of national economy at the end of 2022, it is anticipated that China's insurance and legal service markets will face more opportunities and challenges in 2023.