China Insurance Regulatory Commission, Insurance Assessors Provisions

Promulgated: November 16 2001
Effective: January 1 2002
Interpreting authority: China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC)
Applicability: The Provisions apply to the establishment of foreign-funded insurance assessors unless laws, administrative regulations or international treaties provide otherwise (Article 78).

Main contents: If in the engagement of insurance assessing services an insurance assessor injures an insurer or an insured person out of the assessor's own fault, the assessor must bear legal liability (Article 6). An insurance assessor can be a partnership, a limited liability company or a company limited by shares (Article 8). Insurance assessors that take the form of partnerships must have an initial investment of at least Rmb500,000 (Article 9). Limited liability companies must possess 2 to 49 shareholders and have a registered capital of at least Rmb500,000 (Article 10). A company limited by shares must have at least six sponsors and have a registered capital of at least Rmb10 million (Article 11).
The application process is divided into two parts; the first is for the forming of the insurance assessor and the second is for the initiation of business (Article 16). Upon authorization to form an insurance assessor, a working group is established to complete within six months the agency formation (Article 20). Once formation work is completed, the applicant may apply to the CIRC to initiate business (Article 21).
The CIRC specifies the geographical area of operation of an insurance assessor (Article 41).
After authorization by the CIRC, the insurance assessor may engage in inspection, value and risk pre-insurance assessment as well as survey, inspection, damage assessment and calculation after a claim on insurance policy has been made (Article 42).
Insurance assessment agencies should establish a business guarantee fund equal to 5% of the registered capital or capital contribution or, alternatively, purchase professional liability insurance (Article 52). They must also submit an auditor's report to the CIRC within 60 days following the end of each accounting year (Article 55).