Willis Pudong Insurance Brokers, the Chinese subsidiary of international insurance broker Willis Group, has had its license to operate from its Guangzhou branch reinstated following the resolution of what the company describes as a 'misunderstanding'.
The global insurance broker confirmed that the earlier suspension of the license of its Guangzhou office to accept new business has now been lifted. The suspension related to an incident that involved representatives of the China Insurance Regulatory Commission being mistakenly denied access to the office, according to Willis.
Willis said it was fined $12,200 regarding the matter. The company added that it has now put in place procedures to ensure that there will be no re-occurrence of the incident.
Operating licenses for foreign companies to conduct insurance activities are notoriously hard to win in China, making the revoking of an existing license a potentially troublesome and costly problem.
Willis Pudong Insurance Brokers Co. is licensed to engage in a full range of insurance and reinsurance activities throughout China. Willis Pudong has 18 licensed branch offices and two service offices.