印度保险监管机构最早可能于1月实施全面的分销改革，继续推进一项已导致保险公司和经纪公司股价大跌的彻底改革。
India’s insurance regulator may implement sweeping distribution reforms as early as January, pushing ahead with an overhaul that has battered shares of insurers and brokers.
印度保险监管发展局（Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India）高管吉里贾·苏布拉曼尼亚姆（Girija Subramanian）在一次采访中表示，目前正在考虑的生效日期为1月1日和4月1日。
The effective dates under consideration are Jan. 1 and April 1, Girija Subramanian, an executive at the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India, said in an interview.
1月这一潜在的启动时间凸显了该监管机构重塑印度保险销售经济学的决心，此前其得出结论认为，早期的自由化未能改善成本纪律。
The potential January start underscores the regulator’s determination to reshape the economics of selling insurance in India after concluding that an earlier liberalization failed to improve cost discipline.
印度保险监管发展局上个月提议对保险公司支付给经纪商和其他分销商的佣金设定上限，旨在降低消费者的费用并鼓励更多人购买保险。这些上限将适用于大多数形式的保险，包括健康险、寿险、财产险和意外险。该监管机构还计划随着时间的推移强制降低管理费用，以帮助降低成本。
IRDAI last month proposed capping commissions paid by insurance companies to brokers and other distributors in a bid to lower fees for consumers and encourage more people to take out insurance. The caps would apply to most forms of insurance, including health, life, property and casualty. The regulator also plans to enforce lower management expenses over time to help bring down costs.
这些提议引发了对保险分销业务敞口较大的公司的急剧抛售潮。在线保险交易平台Policybazaar的母公司PB Fintech有限公司在这些举措宣布时暴跌了36%。自那时起，Turtlemint Fintech Solutions有限公司的股价已腰斩。
The proposals triggered a sharp selloff in companies exposed to insurance distribution. PB Fintech Ltd., the parent of online insurance marketplace Policybazaar, tumbled 36% when the moves were announced. Turtlemint Fintech Solutions Ltd. has plunged by half since then.
分析师表示，这些举措可能会使银行和数字经纪商在利润率较高的类别中的手续费收入锐减高达90%。据杰富瑞金融集团（Jefferies Financial Group Inc.）称，对于包括PB Fintech和Turtlemint在内的金融科技平台而言，风险更高，因为拟议中将新业务佣金率削减10%，将转化为其收益10%至12%的下降。
The measures could slash fee income for banks and digital brokers by as much as 90% in high-margin categories, according to analysts. The risks are higher for fintech platforms including PB Fintech and Turtlemint as the proposed 10% cut in new business commission rates translates to a 10%-12% fall in their earnings, according to Jefferies Financial Group Inc.
印度保险经纪人协会（Insurance Brokers Association of India）已发出警告，称这些变革可能会影响多达100万个工作岗位。经纪商一直在与印度保险监管发展局进行会谈，以寻求对这些提议做出修改。
The Insurance Brokers Association of India has warned that the changes could affect as many as 1 million jobs. Brokers have been in talks with the IRDAI as they seek changes to the proposals.
苏拉马尼安（Subramanian），监管机构的全职成员（分销），驳斥了改革会导致大规模失业的担忧。她表示，改革应通过扩大分销网络并让新参与者更容易进入保险业务来创造就业。
Subramanian, a whole-time member (distribution) at the regulator, rejected concerns that the overhaul would lead to large-scale job losses. She said the reforms should instead generate employment by widening the distribution network and making it easier for new participants to enter the insurance business.
监管机构称，自2023年放宽规则以来，佣金增长速度超过保费增长，而更高的分销支出并未带来相应的保险覆盖扩张。
The regulator says commissions have grown faster than premiums since rules were relaxed in 2023, while higher distribution spending hasn’t produced a corresponding expansion in insurance coverage.
私人寿险公司的费用已从2021财年的16%上升至约占总保费的22%。私人财产险公司的费用则从2019财年的25%上升至约32%，据IRDAI数据。分销商获得的奖励在某些情况下使基础佣金增加了30%至60%。
Expenses at private life insurers have climbed to about 22% of total premiums, from 16% in fiscal 2021. Those at private general insurers have risen to roughly 32% from 25% in fiscal 2019, according to IRDAI. Rewards paid to distributors have in some cases added 30% to 60% to base commissions.
提案还包括对分销商向大城市以外地区扩张的激励。人口不足100万的城镇产生的业务可额外获得适用佣金上限的10%，人口不足5万的地区则提升至20%。IRDAI还在提议降低准入要求，并允许分销商从事其他金融和非金融活动。
The proposals also include incentives for distributors to expand beyond major cities. Business generated in towns with populations of fewer than 1 million could earn an additional 10% of the applicable commission limit, rising to 20% for areas with less than 50,000. IRDAI is also proposing lower entry requirements and allowing distributors to undertake other financial and non-financial activities.
监管机构正给保险公司时间适应更严格的费用上限。这些削减将在五年内分阶段实施，首个中期里程碑设在截至2029年3月的财年。
The regulator is giving insurers time to adjust to tighter expense limits. The reductions would be phased in over five years, with the first interim milestone in the financial year ending March 2029.
保险公司、经纪人及其他利益相关者须在10月25日前提交对征求意见稿的评论。苏拉马尼安表示，IRDAI将在发布草案法规前审查这些建议。随后这些规则将再次公开征求公众反馈，随后发布最终框架。
Insurers, brokers and other stakeholders have until Oct. 25 to submit comments on the consultation paper. IRDAI will examine these suggestions before issuing draft regulations, Subramanian said. Those rules will then be opened for another round of public feedback before the final framework is issued.
拟议的佣金制度改革在亚洲其他地区也有类似先例。2023年，中国监管机构要求保险公司支付的佣金必须与向监管机构申报的费率一致，实际上相当于设定了上限。此后，银行保险的平均佣金下降了约30%，迫使银行和保险公司重新协商分销协议。
The proposed commission overhaul has parallels elsewhere in Asia. China’s regulator in 2023 required commissions paid by insurers to match rates filed with the regulator, effectively imposing a cap. Average bancassurance commissions subsequently fell by about 30%, forcing banks and insurers to renegotiate distribution agreements.
印度保险和养老金监管局（IRDAI）认为，设置佣金上限需要比削减费用更快的实施方法。苏布拉马尼亚姆表示，逐步实施这一政策可能会促使分销商在每次调整前加快销售，从而可能增加不当销售的风险。
IRDAI argues that commission caps require a faster approach than expense reductions. Phasing them in could encourage distributors to accelerate sales ahead of each reduction, potentially increasing the risk of mis-selling, according to Subramanian.
“越早实施越好，但确保改革正确实施比尽早实施更为重要，”她说。
“There is an earlier-the-better case, but getting the reforms right is more important than getting them early,” she said.