Taiwan's COVID measures bring remote meeting, broker amendments to insurance market

Although temporary, the remote meeting measures may be adopted as a general practice.

The established practice of Taiwanese insurance agents to visit clients in person for new policies, underwriting or settling claims is being pressured anew by pandemic-related quarantine restrictions, according to the Global Insurance Law Connect Risk Radar 2021 report.

The country’s Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) has put forward a temporary guideline that will reduce in-person contact whilst keeping the industry running smoothly, according to the law firm Lee and Li Attorneys-at-Law. 

One of the major policies includes using video and phone calls in lieu of physical visits, with the client presenting an ID for verification whilst the agent shall keep records of the calls, consents given, documents, or images, the report said. 

Although the measures are deemed temporary, it is possible that video and phone calls may be adopted as a new general practice and become a major reformation in the post-COVID insurance industry.

“By adopting new measures and technologies, the local insurance industry is still able to thrive under the pressure of COVID,” said CT Chang, a partner at Lee and Li.

In addition, the FSC earlier this year had amended the guidelines governing insurance brokers to promote the sound operation of such firms, the report noted, in particular raising the minimum paid-in capital requirement for newly establishing insurance brokers.

The amendment also stipulated that reinsurance-related documents and information must be preserved, ready for inspection by the competent authority, and be submitted to the original insurer.

“Facing the challenges arising out of stringent regulation, our clients should adjust to the stricter supervision by being attentive to legal compliance and corporate governance,” Chang said.