CTBC Insurance Co (中國信託產險) on Thursday filed an application to set up a Web-only insurance company, the first such application in Taiwan, after its board of directors approved the proposal earlier in the day.
Insurance Bureau Director-General Shih Chiung-hwa (施瓊華) had previously told reporters that Fubon Financial Holding Co (富邦金控) and CTBC Financial Holding Co (中信金控) had expressed an interest in establishing such a business, while other insurance companies had inquired about application requirements.
A Web-only insurer cannot sell policies through physical channels or salespeople and its sales must be carried out completely online, the Financial Supervisory Commission has said.
Photo courtesy of CTBC Bank Co
A virtual insurer must be at least 40 percent owned by a financial institute. Of the 40 percent stake, at least 25 percent should be owned by a life insurance firm or a financial holding company with an insurance unit to ensure that the venture can comply with insurance regulations, the commission said.
A Web-only life insurer must have paid-in capital of at least NT$1 billion (US$31.36 million), while a non-life insurer must have at least NT$2 billion, it said.
The application review would take about five months, the commission said.
If approved, CTBC Insurance can launch the nation’s fist Web-only insurance company in the second quarter of next year, it said.
Fubon Financial president Jerry Harn (韓蔚廷) told an investors’ conference in August that the company had reservations about establishing a virtual insurer, as such a firm might not create significant synergy in the short term.
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