Two apply to run Web-only non-life insurance firms

Two local firms applied to the Financial Supervisory Commission (FSC) to set up Web-only non-life insurance companies before the deadline on Monday, the regulator said.

One of the applications was submitted by CTBC Insurance Co (中國信託產險), which Chinese-language news media reported would partner with Far EasTone Telecommunications Co (遠傳電信) to launch the new business.

The CTBC-Far EasTone venture would focus on usage-based insurance, a type of vehicle insurance with a premium that is usually based on the customer’s driving behavior rather than their age or gender, local news media reported.

CTBC would hold an 80 percent stake in the new business, with Far EasTone owning the remaining 20 percent, local news media reported.

The commission did not identify the second applicant, saying only that it is an insurance broker.

It remains unclear whether the companies would obtain a license, as the FSC has no limit on the number of licenses it would issue, Insurance Bureau Deputy Director Lin Chih-hsien (林志憲) told a news conference on Tuesday.

The application review would take about five months, he said.

A Web-only insurer mush have paid-in capital of at least NT$1 billion (US$31.1 million) and is not allowed to sell policies through physical channels such as salespeople, as its sales must be carried out completely online, the commission said.