Source: Beijing Business Today
A regulatory announcement legally revoked the Insurance Intermediary License of Sweet Orange Insurance Agency Co., Ltd. (hereinafter referred to as "Sweet Orange Insurance"). As a result, this insurance intermediary under China Telecom has officially exited the insurance agency business. On 10 month 15, Beijing Business Today reporter noticed that the official website of Sweet Orange Insurance is no longer accessible, yet its social media accounts remain active, with the homepage still labeled as an "Insurance Agency Platform Under China Telecom." Additionally, searching for insurance within the Yizhifu App still allows users to click on "Request Consultation."
A company whose license has been revoked isn't truly "gone"? Is this a timing gap in the revocation process, or a flaw in the compliance chain? When the word "insurance" still lingers within reach, how can consumers tell what's already over and what's still active?
License revoked, but "Insurance Entry" still visible?
On 10 14, the National Financial Regulatory Administration's Shaanxi Bureau announced the revocation of Sweet Orange Insurance Agency's "Insurance Intermediary License," stating that, in accordance with relevant regulations such as the "Administrative Licensing Law of the People's Republic of China" and the "Regulations on the Supervision of Insurance Agents," the license has been legally revoked.
Tiancheng Insurance Agency is the insurance agency platform under China Telecom.
A Beijing Business Today reporter found that although the official website of Sweet Orange Insurance Agency (http://www.tcbx.com.cn）已无法访问，但其微信公众号（服务号）仍存在。公众号“甜橙保险代理”主页仍标注“中国电信旗下保险代理平台”，账号主体为“甜橙保险代理有限公司”。
Additionally, in the "My Services" menu, the options for "Repair & Replacement," "1v1 Consultation," and "Information Disclosure" remain accessible. Clicking on "1v1 Consultation" automatically displays a service card offering "1v1 Human Support for Professional Insurance Q&A," along with an Enterprise WeChat QR code. The "Repair & Replacement" page redirects to the "Ping'an Bao Claims Service Center." Beijing Business Today further verified that Ping'an Bao is a mobile screen protection service, not an insurance product. Within the Yizhifu App, promotional information for this product states coverage up to 1200 yuan, a first-month fee of 0 yuan, and over 640 million users already protected against screen damage.
Additionally, in the Yitong Pay app, search for "Insurance" and click "Schedule Consultation" on the relevant screen. After clicking, the interface displays "Schedule an insurance expert to 1 guide you on buying insurance." Once you click "Schedule Now" and enter your phone number, a pop-up will show "Your appointment has been successfully scheduled."
Based on public information, Sweet Orange Insurance Agency was established in 2012 year 8 month, with a registered capital of 5000 ten thousand yuan. Its business scope includes: agency sale of insurance products nationwide (excluding Hong Kong, Macao, and Taiwan); collection of insurance premiums; and loss survey and claims handling for relevant insurance businesses.
Moving beyond "insurance" isn't just about returning a license.
It is evident that WeChat Official Accounts and the Yi Pay App still feature service descriptions for Tiancheng Insurance Agency. This raises a practical question: after license revocation, should these institutions completely disassociate from the term "insurance"? Furthermore, how can they prevent consumers from mistakenly believing that operations are continuing?
Addressing this question, an industry insider told Beijing Business Today that insurance providers' exit follows two tracks: First, on the compliance front, after the announcement, they must cancel their licenses and halt all insurance sales immediately. Second, regarding operations, practitioners' professional registrations need to be revoked, and existing policies must be managed. Unlike insurers, which have a complex cancellation process, intermediaries are simpler because the underlying coverage remains with the original insurer; only the service personnel change. However, the insuring company must contact policyholders directly to inform them of their policy status and outline future service arrangements.
Clearly, exiting the market involves far more than simply returning a license. Guo Yinlong, Operations Director of Aishoupai (Shanghai) Business Consulting Co., Ltd., stated that in compliance with relevant laws and regulations, including the "Regulations on the Supervision of Insurance Agents," insurance intermediaries must return their original licenses upon deregistration and immediately cease all insurance agency activities. If an insurance professional agency continues to exist after its license is revoked, it is prohibited from engaging in insurance agency business and must legally update its name, business scope, and articles of association to ensure the term "Insurance Agency" is removed from its name.
Meanwhile, how to clear the online entry points and promotional content used before license revocation has drawn significant attention. Industry experts believe that after formally exiting the insurance sector, institutions must take more comprehensive measures to avoid compliance risks. "Following the revocation of Tiansheng's agency license, immediate actions should include issuing a formal announcement," said Guo Yinlong. "Specifically, the company should publish a license revocation notice via official channels (such as its official WeChat account or website), clearly informing consumers that 'the license has been revoked and insurance agency services have ceased.'"
Regarding the cleanup of online channels, Guo Yinlong stated that all content related to "insurance agency" or "insurance sales," including official website information, WeChat Official Account names and descriptions, menu bars, historical articles, insurance agency entry points within relevant apps, and product introductions, must be removed or updated. For updating corporate status, companies should either deregister or apply with market regulation authorities to change their name and business scope by removing "insurance agency" from the company name and deleting insurance agency services from the business scope. Additionally, existing business matters must be handled by arranging handovers for policy renewals and claims processing for signed customers to prevent service interruptions and potential disputes following license revocation.
Operational focus should center on the "no implication" rule in marketing. Li Chao, an insurance lawyer at Beijing Shaohemingdi Law Firm, stated that institutions must not imply they retain intermediary qualifications or are still conducting sales or agency business. If a WeChat official account remains active, it must clearly indicate that insurance agency services have ceased. Entry points such as "Book Consultation" in the menu should be removed or replaced with post-service options like "Existing Policy Inquiry."
China Daily reporter contacted China Telecom regarding the issue, but as of press time, the company had not responded.
The "last mile" of service requires someone to receive it.
Looking back, on 2025/11/28, Tiancheng Insurance Agency announced that it would cease insurance agency operations effective immediately due to strategic adjustments. The company also stated that it would no longer accept new policy sales or consulting inquiries.
The announcement on license revocation has been finalized, and the notice halting operations has been issued. For consumers who previously purchased insurance through Tancheng Insurance Agency, a more specific question now arises: "How will this affect my policy?"
Addressing this anxiety, industry insiders first offered reassurance. "Generally, the cancellation of an insurance intermediary has minimal impact on existing policyholders' core rights (policy validity and claims liability), though it may cause short-term inconvenience in post-purchase service experiences (such as policy changes, renewals, or inquiries)," said Guo Yinlong. He explained that insurance intermediaries serve as professional agents; their primary function relates to "sales and service channels," not the "insurance coverage itself."
Li Chao also noted that insurance intermediaries act as "channels," not insurers. Consumers purchase policies underwritten by insurance companies; even after an intermediary's deregistration, policy validity and claims obligations remain the responsibility of the underwriting insurer. Regulators explicitly require that when an insurance company terminates its cooperation with an intermediary, for any life insurance contracts exceeding 1 years signed through that intermediary that have not yet been fulfilled, the insurer must notify policyholders of the contract status and subsequent service channels within 30 days, without infringing upon the legitimate rights and interests of policyholders or insured persons.
Since policy validity remains unaffected, what should intermediary agencies do before deregistration to ensure uninterrupted service? Guo Yinlong stated that as a critical link in insurance business, intermediaries must legally complete liquidation procedures prior to deregistration, including asset clearance, preparation of balance sheets and property lists, and handling outstanding transactions. Intermediary agencies should coordinate with insurers to inform consumers about subsequent policy services and claims processing. Future services will be continued by the corresponding underwriting insurer to avoid any impact on customers due to agency deregistration.
According to Guo Yinlong, if an insurance intermediary is deregistered, policyholders can contact the insurer directly to inquire about ongoing services such as premium payments and claims procedures. Insurers are obligated to provide necessary support and assistance to policyholders.
The "last mile" of policy service is finally addressed, but why did Sweet Orange Insurance Agency reach the point of deregistration? According to Li Chao, traffic-based insurance intermediaries used to rely on shareholder scenarios and customer acquisition channels for survival. However, as direct sales by insurers, third-party platform insurance channels, and professional brokers have grown in recent years, pure channel intermediaries' bargaining power has declined. If shareholder synergy is weak, premium volumes fail to grow, and compliance costs remain high, a license can shift from an asset to a burden.
Guo Yilong attributes Orange Insurance Agency's rise and fall to the convergence of three forces. As an insurance intermediary under China Telecom, a central state-owned enterprise, Guo explains that the agency's deregistration was driven by: first, the group's strategic move to divest non-core financial assets and focus on its core business; second, strict regulatory enforcement of "integration of reporting and execution" to curb vicious competition, which lowered industry-wide commission rates and significantly squeezed profit margins for intermediaries reliant on high-commission models; and third, a shift in the competitive landscape of online insurance. As insurers expand their direct online channels, the survival space for traffic-driven intermediaries has shrunk. Intermediaries depending solely on shareholder-generated traffic face increasing operational challenges, marking a transition from pursuing scale to prioritizing quality.
Beijing Business Today reporter Hu Yongxin
