Securities Daily Su Xianggao
Insurance companies that underwrite isolation insurance have been in trouble recently. First, some insurance companies refused to claim isolation insurance on the grounds that there are no medium and high risk areas in Shanghai.Internet celebrity isolation insurance has temporarily become a "hot potato".
In fact, contrary to the current controversy, at the beginning of its launch, isolation insurance was sought after by both consumers and insurance companies, especially on some Internet platforms.In this context, more than 10 insurance companies have successively launched similar products.
On the one hand, the explosion of isolation insurance is related to the fact that it hits the pain point of consumers and the price is close to the people.During the epidemic, the risk of consumers being isolated has increased sharply. Before that, there was no relevant insurance to diversify the risk, and the price of isolation insurance was only a few dozen yuan. Once isolated, they could get thousands of yuan in compensation. The leverage of insurance is obvious.On the other hand, because isolation insurance can expand online traffic and enhance the company's reputation, insurance companies are also keen to promote this type of insurance.
However, since the Shanghai area began to strictly control and control it at the end of March, there have been more and more cases of insurance companies refusing to claim isolation insurance and consumer complaints, and consumers and insurance companies are "calling injustice".
Consumers accused insurers of unreasonably denying claims.For example, the home health monitoring certificate issued by some consumers on online platforms designated by government agencies such as "Suizhuan" was deemed "not legally effective" by insurance companies and was refused compensation.In addition, some consumers said that it was unreasonable for insurance companies to refuse to claim isolation insurance on the grounds of “non-medium and high-risk areas in Shanghai” in April and May this year, because Shanghai was not divided according to the previous normalized high-risk areas, and It is divided into three areas: closure, control, and prevention. Insurance companies are playing a game of words when they refuse to pay.
Insurance companies responded by saying that they had already made all the necessary compensation, and under the pressure of huge compensation, the isolation insurance business had already "lost".
Why is the isolation insurance "applauded and popular" in the end not pleasing to both sides?The core crux is that insurance companies have insufficient estimates of the risk of large-scale spread of the epidemic, and there are problems with product pricing.A number of actuaries told the author that the pricing of isolation insurance is based on historical big data. Many insurance companies use the epidemic data in Wuhan as the basis for pricing. After the epidemic exceeded expectations, they had to tighten claims and remove products to reduce risks. Numerous denials and complaints.
In this regard, the author believes that loss is not a legitimate reason for insurance companies to refuse compensation. Insurance companies should make full compensation in accordance with the terms specified in the insurance contract, not play word games, not fool consumers, and protect the legitimate rights and interests of the insured. .The Insurance Law has long made it clear that engaging in insurance activities must abide by laws and administrative regulations, respect social morals, and must not harm social and public interests.
On this basis, the insurance industry should also sum up experience and lessons, improve product innovation mechanisms, strengthen risk management capabilities, and improve service efficiency.
The first is to fear risks and set reasonable prices.Although insurance companies are professional institutions that manage risks, there have been cases at home and abroad where insurance institutions "suffered big losses" due to insufficient risk identification and assessment.In the 1970s and 1990s, insurance companies in Japan and the United States failed due to insufficient assessment of interest rate risk.Chinese insurance companies have underwritten a large number of P2P performance insurance since 2015, but due to insufficient risk assessment and a lot of losses, some insurance companies have not yet come out of the quagmire.
The second is to truly be customer-centric.At present, many insurance companies advertise "customer-centricity", but in the actual operation process, they often "forget" this purpose.For example, when some insurance companies promote isolation insurance, they only emphasize the rights and interests of consumers, and deliberately play down clauses that are not conducive to claim settlement, such as "exemption clauses", and wait for consumers to find out they have been deceived when making claims.
The third is to strengthen supervision.On the one hand, supervision should encourage innovation and continue to meet the diverse insurance needs of consumers; on the other hand, supervision should also intensify control, set red lines, and urge insurance companies to fully identify moral hazard, policy risk, and technological risk in the innovation process. Risks and other risks, and keep the bottom line of compliant operation.
