| According to the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP), micro-insurance is a form of insurance designed to help the low-income people avoid certain risks. Its operation principle is charging small premiums based on the probability and cost of risks. Micro-life insurance is a class of life insurance products for low-income people. It’s an important part of microfinance and a kind of effective financial tools for poverty alleviation with the characteristics of low premiums, moderate protection, common policy and simple underwriting. Since the emergence of micro-insurance, it has been used by more and more developing countries as a kind of poverty alleviation tools. Because our country’s social security system was imperfect and the farmers were unable to purchase commercial insurance, the farmers’life had not been protected effectively. The demand of micro-insurance was so large. By the end of 2011, the proportion of the rural population of China was about 48.73%.Despite the proportion is the first time to be less than 50%,the income gap between urban and rural areas is still very large. At present, our country has still been in the stage of constructing a harmonious society and building a new socialist countryside environment, so "three rural issues" has still been given a high attention. As early as in 2006,micro-insurance was studied by our country as a new tool for helping the poor.In 2007, with the efforts of China Insurance Regulatory Commission and supportedby the international community, China joined the international working group on micro-insurance (IAIS-CGAP). In 2008, China Insurance Regulatory Commission issued the plan on the micro-life insurance in rural areas. Commercial insurance companies that meet certain conditions can apply to provide micro-life insurance products, which also have some limitations. Currently, the micro-life insurance has made some achievements, which has already provided certain protection to the lives of farmers. However, due to the slow growth of rural residents’income level, the urban and rural residents’ income gap has been increasing day by day. And the farmers are lack of insurance awareness, because of low education level. There has been a certain gap between theoretical demands and practical needs of the insurance. On the one hand, the main micro-life insurance products are supplied by commercial insurance companies, whose purposes of operation is to make a profit, so they are lack of promotion to develop new micro-life insurance products which may be needed by the poor; on the other hand these commercial insurance companies are at different levels; therefore they result in an imbalance development of the rural micro-life insurance market.This article mainly studies the imbalance of the rural micro-life insurance market, which is based on the analyses of the supply and demand of the rural micro-life insurance, and gives certain suggestions which may guarantee that the rural micro-life insurance would develop steadily.The paper is divided into five parts. The beginning of first part describes the background of this research. By analyzing the demand and supply of rural micro-life insurance, this paper gives some suggestions to make sure that the rural micro-life insurance can develop in a better way. The research on micro-insurance abroad was earlier than at home. The major agencies who have been in-depth study on micro-insurance are the Micro-insurance Centre, CGAP and International Micro-insurance Agency. After the starting of the micro-insurance in 2008, more and more scholars began to focus on the development of micro-insurance in China. Based on studies of other scholars and combined with the status of the micro-life insurance in China, this paper has been written to analyses the supply and demand of micro-life insurance in China’s insurance market. On the one hand,it points out the problems including the potential ones; on the other hand, in order to keep the rural micro-life insurance to develop healthily and sustainability, this paper puts forward specific proposals and countermeasures. Finally, innovations and shortcomings of this article are summarized.The second part of this paper is an introduction of the basic content and development of rural micro-life insurance.Firstly, the article gives two definitions of micro-insurance. One is given by the Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP); the other one is given by the International Insurance Supervisors Association (IAIS).Its definition by the CIRC is adopted in this paper. Secondly, it sums up the common characteristics and the differences between the micro-insurance and the traditional insurance by comparing the two kinds of insurance. And then the paper makes a further analysis of the impact of differences between micro-insurance and traditional insurance. Finally, this paper analyzes the development of micro-life insurance in India and Philippines, in which the micro-life insurance is growing healthily.The third and the fourth parts are most important in this paper. The third part analyzes the problems appeared in the supply of the rural micro-life insurance in our countryside by studying the insurance supplier, insurance products and the business model. At present, there are three kinds of micro-life insurance supplier: commercial insurance companies, NGO, and mutual insurance companies. Because our country’s rural micro-life insurance is on the exploratory stage, the main insurance products suppliers are commercial insurance companies that meet certain qualifications. There are three major rural micro-insurances:micro-life insurance, micro-health insurance and micro-accident insurance. The micro-life insurance in our country has its own characteristics. However, there is a situation that the major micro-life insurance products suppliers are lack of motive to innovate the products. There are three major business models:mutual assistance or cooperation, cooperation-agency mode, the independent business model. The studies on micro-insurance business models which were analyzed by domestic scholars were useful for the choice of business model in China. At present, there are four major models in China:the main village system security mode, joint interactive mode,1+1model credit insurance, small group single-mode. The suitable business model is conducive to the further promotion of the micro-life insurance.The fourth part analyzes the problems existed in the development of the rural micro-life insurance from the point of demand.There is a further analysis on the imbalance of demand and supply. According to a certain model, there are several factors which had huge inference for the demand of insurance. They are size of the risks, individual tolerance of risk, individual income level and the insurance cost. From the same model, the author points out that the size and individual tolerances of risks are the key factors which have the decisive impact on the demand of insurance. The individual income level and the insurance cost affect the number of the insurance companies who actually can afford. The fact is that the higher the level of risk or the lower of individual capacity, the greater the potential of insurance demand. The huge potential demand of insurance for the low-income people in China provides a suitable space to the development of micro-insurance. In our country, the main factors that affect the demand of micro-insurance are the income level of rural residents, the specific characteristic of the risk, the traditional concept of the farmers and the price of insurance products. The last part of this chapter analyzes the situation of imbalances of supply and demand in the development of the micro-life insurance by using the general equilibrium analysis. And real equilibrium is described. The situation of the imbalance between supply and demand of the rural micro-life insurance is mainly due to several aspects. The first factor is the dislocation of supply and demand of the micro-life insurance, as well as the farmers’additional potential demand. The second one is the inadequate supply of insurance products which fails to meet the demand of farmers because of the unbalanced development of the existing business entities and the lack of motive of micro-life insurance products supplier. The third one is the inadequate of the support from the government.The fifth part puts forward countermeasures and suggestions for the development of rural micro-life insurance. There are four main aspects. First, the current imbalance situation of supply and demand is the result of the single insurance product supplier and the shortage of the business model. So the key way to solve the problem is to promote a variety of business models. Second, the government should increase more support for rural micro-personal insurance by increasing financial subsidies, improving the efficiency of financial subsidies, perfecting the taxation system and developing certain relevant laws and regulations. The third way is to raise farmers’ knowledge and awareness of insurance by more publicity and education of the micro-life insurance. And the insurance companies should try their best to reverse its image in the minds of most people. Finally, this paper suggests that we should combine China’s actual situation with the success foreign experience to make the micro-life insurance develop healthily. |
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