Self-Regulatory Guidelines for the Suitability Management of Insurance Products Released

Zhao Xinyue

BEIJING, March 31 (Reporter Qu Xinming) The China Insurance Industry Association recently released the “Self-Discipline Guidelines for the Management of the Suitability of Insurance Products.” This is the insurance industry’s first self-regulatory document focusing on product suitability management. It establishes a full-process management system covering product classification, sales qualifications, customer assessment, matched sales, internal control management, and self-regulatory oversight.

The guidelines make it clear that insurance institutions should, based on an understanding of the relevant information of the policyholder, assess the policyholder’s insurance needs and financial payment capacity according to the policyholder’s insurance protection needs, together with the policyholder’s financial payment level. They should reference the priority and importance of the needs and the protection already purchased, and provide the policyholder with suitable insurance products. Before the insurance contract is concluded, if the insurance institution’s assessment and judgment find that the policyholder and the insurance product do not meet product suitability requirements, it shall advise the policyholder to terminate the application. If the policyholder does not accept the recommendation to terminate the application and still insists on purchasing insurance and concluding an insurance contract, the insurance institution shall fully explain the relevant risks and confirm that the policyholder’s act of applying is the policyholder’s true intent and independent choice made after having sufficiently understood the product information.

A relevant person in charge from the China Insurance Association said that the guidelines take “the seller’s duty of care” as the starting point. By building a self-regulatory framework that covers the entire chain of insurance sales, it aims to address sales misrepresentation and product mismatch risks at their source, enhance the professionalism and standardization of sales conduct, and help the industry accelerate the establishment of a more complete suitability management system.

《 People’s Daily 》( April 01, 2026, Edition 07)