온라인플랫폼에서의 보험상품판매규제와 법제 개선방안

One of the changes that we have experienced during the period of COVID-19 is the rapid growth of the Online distribution channel with the assistance of the wide expansion of mobile technologies. This changes also affect the insurance industry, especially, in the aspect that the market of insurance goods will be transferred from the traditional face-to-face business to the untact marketing pattern. In keeping with the untact dealing trends in the distribution channels and the needs of consumers, current regulatory barriers in which prohibits the registration of an insurance agency of electronic financial business operators should be revised toward allowing the regiatration of an insurance agency. In this paper, I provide the legal and practical grounds for the revision. Firstly, current regulatory position is contradictory to the global trends which freely permit the sales of insurance goods on online platform. This kind of regulatory barrier might weaken the competition power of domestic insurance companies and online platforms. Secondly, the excessive restriction of the eligibility for registration of the insurance agency of electronic financial business operators does not correspond to the purpose of current Insurance Business Act, and also might decrease the benefits of the consumers in the insurance market. Finally, I point out the absence of the reasonable grounds for the regulatory restriction. In sum, I recommend to revise the subsection 3 of §32 of the enforcement ordinance of Insurance Business Act toward the employment an exceptional clause in order for the electronic financial business operators and mail order broker to be registrated as an insurance agency. Through this regulatory change, I expect the increase of the consumers’ benefit in insurance market by the decrease of insurance premium and the expansion of the seletion of insurance goods.