Research On The Education Of Insurance Consumer In China

In recent years, especially after the global financial crisis in2008, national legislators paid more and more attention to financial consumer protection, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the World Bank and other major international organizations began to study the financial consumer protection as a central issue to maintain financial stability. Financial consumer education is an extension of the financial consumer protection, it is an important pre-dispute prevention mechanism, supporting measures to protect consumers. Through financial consumer education, which can enhance cognitive ability and awareness of preventing financial risk and strengthen consumer choice and decision-making in daily life, then that can better protect their own interests. June2012the World Bank issued a covering banking, securities, insurance, non-bank credit institutions--"Good Practices for consumer Protection", it provides a reference to the countries to carry out financial consumer protection, in which financial literacy is one of good practices. One of the important principles of OECD in "High-level Principles on Financial Consumer Protection" is financial education and awareness. July2010the United States pass a bill--Dodd Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act", in which one of the eye-catching is Consumer Financial Protection Bureau(CFPB).CFPB includes financial education offices, complaints offices and financial advisory committee in order to protect financial consumers in multi-level. Financial Services Authority also carries out financial consumer education in UK. In addition, some other developed countries, emerging market countries also think financial consumer education is one of the important way to protect financial consumers.Insurance is an important branch of the financial sector, which is developing rapidly in China, insurance is increasingly linked to people with the improvement of economy and living standard of people. So protecting insurance consumers has become a hot issue, which is key to the development of insurance industry. In recent years, regulators in China focus on protecting insurance consumers, promoting knowledge of insurance, enhancing risk awareness and advocating the concept of rational consumption by consumer education on insurance.2009CIRC worked out "program of strengthening consumer education on insurance", it emphasizes that in order to good consumer education on insurance, system construction is the basis, participation of the regulatory authorities, industry groups and proprietors and others is the guarantee, financial literacy, risk education and insurance education is the main content, effective supervision is the safeguard, so that it can form an education system of "sound system, multilateral involvement, well defined power and responsibilities, strong execution". October14,2011, Insurance Consumer Protection Bureau was established, which one of the main duties is to carry out consumer education on insurance, the construction of service information systems and release risk warning. In early2012CIRC established "Insurance Knowledge Forum" section on the official website, subsequently, it also opened official micro-blog--"Insurance Consumer Knowledge Corner", which aimed at universal insurance knowledge, enhancing consumers’ awareness of their rights and improve the capabilities of Insurance consumers’ self-identification, self-judgment and self-protection.China Insurance Association and many local Insurance Association has also set up the official micro-blog, published news and events of various types of insurance, insurance comic, insurance quotes, etc., which propagated the core values of insurance to the public. Meanwhile CIRC also carried out consumer education by making life insurance policies easy, information disclosure, etc. CIRC also promotes insurance companies to conduct consumer education in their services. Thus, consumer education on insurance paid more and more attention in China, trying to develop "economic man to economic man" forces against the misconduct of insurance agencies.This thesis is mainly comprised of five parts. Preface is the elaboration of background and significance, literature review and the main content. Chapter1is about the consumption environment and consumer education on insurance. First some conceptions related consumer protection are introduced; secondly it analyses the necessity to carry out consumer education on insurance through behavioral finance and cultural factors, including cognitive bias, herd behavior, loss aversion theory; Finally it said consumer education on insurance is an effective means of consumer protection. Chapter2is the analysis of the status of consumer education on insurance in China, and trying to find out the problems of consumer education, such as lack of special funds and personnel, and lack of long-term consumer education, and the ignorance of a feedback mechanism. Chapter3is about experience of consumer education from the mature insurance markets. it carries out an overview of financial consumer education in the United States,the United Kingdom and OECD, pointing out their lessons that we can learn from, such as the diversification of the educational approach, multi-level dispute adjudication mechanism, regular assessment feedback, focusing on vulnerable groups insurance education. Chapter4is to build consumer education system on insurance. The multi-level educational system is consist of education organization system, content system, the implementation systems and security systems. In which it advocates government leading, Insurance Association, insurance companies, schools and other multi-stakeholder involve in consumer education; and make a suitable design of content in consumer education through drawing lessons from OECD, the United States, Britain and other countries; then implement consumer education on insurance by advancing national strategies for financial education, establishing a nationwide insurance Consumer education service areas, etc.; Finally building security systems by making policy easy, the comprehensive disclosure of insurance services and products and so on.