China Insurance Regulatory Commission and State Administration for Industry and Commerce, Administration of the Sales Service Departments of Insurance Companies Measures

Promulgated: February 1 2002
Effective: March 1 2002
Interpreting authority: China Insurance Regulatory Commission and State Administration for Industry and Commerce
Applicability: For the purposes of the Measures, a "sales service department" means an organization set up by an insurance company or its branch with approval from an agency of China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) and registered with the industry and commerce administration, which exercises management control of its sales personnel and provides insurance services to its customers (Article 2).

Main contents: The Measures state that no one shall set up an insurance sales service department without approval and registration (Article 2). When setting up a sales service department, an insurance company shall select a reasonable location in accordance with the needs of its business growth and shall not choose a location outside of its business area (Article 4). The head of a sales service department shall have at least three years of experience in insurance business (Article 5). The scope of business for a sales service department is: (1) training and routine management of salespersons; (2) handling the premiums and insurance applications received by the salespersons; (3) distributing the policies and receipts issued by the head office; (4) handling customer inquiries and complaints; (5) printing policies (subject to verification by the head office); and (6) investigating and handling claims (subject to authorization by the head office) (Article 7). If approved, a sales service department shall receive an insurance sales service permit from the approval agency of CIRC (Article 9).