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Better regulation for agricultural insurance urged

By Dai Yan (chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2006-11-21 14:02

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The Chinese agricultural insurance market is shrinking as it suffers losses due to an imperfect legal system. Special regulatory institutions should be set up to better manage agricultural insurance and promote its development, said Gao Wei, an expert with the Development and Research Center of the State Council.

The current national insurance law mainly regulates the operations of commercial insurers and fails to cover act insurance such as agricultural insurance. The government needs to conduct some trials and learn from foreign countries about how to constitute corresponding legal items. Those kinds of agricultural insurance that directly affect people's lives can be made compulsory, Gao noted.

Policy and measures on agricultural reinsurance are still absent. Domestic insurance companies are concerned about the high costs of purchasing commercial reinsurance. The central government can invest in establishing an agricultural reinsurance company, or offer favorable policies to China Reinsurance to share risks with insurers operating agricultural insurance, according to Gao. Insurers can also seek international cooperation to distribute risks.

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The full text is available in the November Issue ofChina Insurance.