China calls for more cooperation on insurer solvency standards

KUNMING - A senior Chinese insurance regulatory official Monday called on Asian countries to increase cooperation, particularly to regulate insurer solvency standards.

Chen Wenhui, vice chairman of China Insurance Regulatory Commission, told a regional regulatory workshop, in southwest China's Yunnan Province, that Asia has become an important part of the global insurance industry, with market share rising from 20 percent to 30 percent of the world's total in the past decade.

Asian nation's insurance markets are very similar, operating in comparable environments, facing the same challenges and having common aspirations, Chen told officials from ten countries including Thailand, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Laos and the Philippines.

He said China was open to sharing experiences and cooperating with Asian countries on solvency regulation.

Unlike the banking sector, insurers around the world are governed by different sets of solvency standards, such as Risk-Based Capital popular in the United States, and the Solvency II Standard Formula in Europe.

China has developed its own standard -- China's Risk-Oriented Solvency System assesses insurer solvency based on risk, rather than business-size as with the previous system. China's current system is considered by peers as a system that balances business growth and risk avoidance, and as being more applicable to developing markets.

Chen proposed that Asian countries establish a long-term dialogue to participate effectively in global standard setting, to help insurance capital move across the borders and to coordinate risk.