Research On The Legal System Of Affiliated Agencies Of Foreign Agricultural Insurance Company

Meanwhile,as China fulfills its WTO commitments to gradually lift its restriction on market access,an influx of foreign investment flows into domestic insurance market.According to experience in international investment,large international insurance companies invest overseas usually in the form of affiliated agencies,and then turn them into subsidiaries or joint ventures with development.According to relevant researches in domestic agricultural insurance,most of them study its nature and position from a macroscopic view,which stresses the guidance of government,but gives little attention to operation of insurance company,especially the market-oriented management.And international agricultural insurance companies and their branches,as important agricultural insurance business entities,have never been favored by domestic scholars.Groupama Insurance,an agricultural insurance company in France,took the lead to knock on the door of China’s agricultural insurance by setting up a branch in Chengdu in 2004.Since the affiliated agency is not an independent legal personality and provisions of our law on branches of foreign companies are too abstract,the Chengdu Branch of Groupama is subject to many restrictions in geographical and business scope,etc.Later,it has merged with the Air Group,thus turning its branch into a joint venture.Such embarrassment is not only confined to Groupama Insurance.It is showed by related statistics that most international insurance companies invest in China in the form of sole-funded companies or branches at first.Yet later,due to imperfect domestic legal norms and market system,coupled with policy bias,these foreign insurance companies have to restructure themselves or change business direction or turn into joint venture.Branches of international agricultural insurance companies are set conformed to our domestic laws,specialized in the business of agricultural insurance.It is not an independent legal personality,including branch office、sub-office and service department in form.Actually,it is a form of realizing trade rights of international insurance company in China and naturally aimed at profits.Considering deficient domestic laws and market system of agricultural insurance,there is a long way to go for their business operation in China.On account of the specificity of agricultural insurance,branches of international agricultural insurance company differ from other branches of our domestic companies in nature and characteristics,especially in market access、operation management、support and supervision by domestic government.From the view of the development of the Chengdu Branch of Groupama in China,as while learn from theories and practices in international and domestic agricultural insurance business and then build the market operating mechanism for international agricultural insurance company and its branches in our country.And I hope it is beneficial for the amendment of China’s agricultural insurance law and the enactment of specialized agricultural insurance management Act in the future.