[2021 National Audit] 113 Insurance Agencies Disciplined for 'Incomplete and Unfair Business Practices' Over 3 Years

[Asia Economy Reporter Oh Hyung-gil] Among the insurance General Agencies (GAs) inspected by the financial supervisory authorities, more than half have disciplined insurance planners for incomplete sales or unfair business practices.

There are calls to strengthen supervision as GAs exert significant influence on the insurance market based on their sales networks.

According to the GA inspection results submitted by the Financial Supervisory Service to Kim Han-jung, a member of the National Assembly's Political Affairs Committee and Special Budget Committee from the Democratic Party, over the past three years, out of a total of 196 GAs, 113 (57.7%) disciplined insurance planners for incomplete or unfair business practices.

As of the end of June, there are a total of 4,501 domestic GAs, with only 61 large GAs having 500 or more planners, accounting for just 1.4% of the total. However, 38.5% of all planners and 88.4% of premium income received from insurance companies are concentrated in these large GAs.

Assemblyman Kim Han-jung analyzed, "In the process of selling products from various insurance companies, incomplete and unfair sales practices have become rampant, such as deliberately omitting important information like premiums and cancellation fees, and focusing on products with higher sales commissions. This has led to an increase in customers canceling their contracts within two years and a rise in related complaints."

He urged, "Supervision of large GAs, which are much larger in scale than financial companies, must be strengthened. Through this, a sound recruitment order should be established and the rights and interests of insurance consumers must be protected."

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