海外鉅額人壽保單讓中國富人感到安全
For wealthy Chinese, a big overseas life-insurance policy might be the ultimate security blanket.
對於中國有錢人來說，最讓他們感到安全的可能是一張海外鉅額人壽保單。Worried that their hard-won fortunes could evaporate in a downturn or be wiped away by an arbitrary act of government, Chinese businesspeople have begun to embrace insurance. A slowing economy has boosted their newfound appreciation.
中國商人擔心辛苦賺到的資產在經濟下行週期中蒸發，或是被政府的有形之手擄去。經濟放緩的事實，也使得他們對保險更感興趣。'I have come across some high-net-worth people who wanted to buy as much as $100 million worth of life insurance,' said Harrison Ho, head of wealth management at Nomura in Hong more common policy size for mainland Chinese high-net-worth clients is $10 million″still large by insurance standards in the rest of the world. The megapolicies are so big that insurance companies band together to reduce their risks, according to insurance brokers in Hong Kong.
野村證券香港私人銀行部董事總經理何樂生說，他曾經遇到過一些大陸高淨值人士想要買價值高達一億美元的人壽保險。有香港保險經紀稱，中國高淨值人士更常見的保單金額是1000萬美元，按照世界上其他國家的標準，這也是很高的金額。這些保單價值高到保險公司都不願一家承擔，要分到幾家以分散風險。
While large life-insurance policies can be expensive and offer modest returns, they fill the financial needs of some wealthy Chinese. They act as a conservative investment to offset riskier ones and they can be an effective way to get cash offshore, while at the same time performing their base function of providing for a family if the policy holder dies.
高額保險不僅貴，提供的回報也不高，但對富有的中國人來說，它具有特定的功能。作爲一種保守的投資，其能夠幫助他們平衡高風險的投資，也不失爲把現金轉移到海外的一種有效辦法，同時又具有投保人過世後給家人提供保障的基本作用。For Chinese business owners, there are additional reasons why these policies can make sense. Their businesses often carry lots of debt, and lately they have been struggling with the combination of rising input costs and sluggish overseas demand. If a company fails, owners could be on the hook, but life insurance is protected if companies are liquidated. That's a real possibility in some highly competitive industries. After the Wenzhou debt crisis erupted in 2011, about 30 businessmen fled the country and another one committed suicide.
對於中國商人來說，還有其他原因使這些高額保險有它的用武之地。他們的生意往往有很多債務，近來很多老闆受要素成本上升和海外需求疲軟的困擾。如果公司倒閉，企業主會有麻煩，但就算公司被清盤，他們的人壽保險還是不受影響。這種情況在中國部分激烈競爭的行業相當普遍。2011年溫州債務糾紛發生後，大約有30個商人逃出中國，還有一人跳樓身亡。Another reason for wealthy Chinese to buy big insurance policies is their age. The average Chinese millionaire is just 39 years old, a full 15 years younger than the average millionaire in the United States, according to Chinese research firm Hurun. That means they often have younger families, so big-ticket items such as education are yet to be paid.
中國有錢人喜歡買高額保險還有一個原因是他們的年齡。據胡潤的數據，中國百萬富翁（以美元計算）的平均年齡只有39歲，比美國要小15歲。這意味着他們家庭成員的年紀還小，一些支出大頭比如子女的教育費用還需要支付。There are good reasons to buy life insurance offshore in Hong Kong, where insurers have been hiring mainland agents to boost their business. Offshore policies offer an annual return up to 4%, compared with 2.5% in mainland China, where the government has in the past capped interest rates to protect the margins of insurers. That's only slowly starting to change.
在境外買保險有它的好處，香港的保險公司正在招募大陸背景的經紀人來提升銷售。境外銷售的保險產品的回報可以達到4%，而在中國大陸銷售的產品的回報爲2.5%。過去中國政府對保險產品的利率有上限，以保護保險公司的利潤率，這種情況直到現在才慢慢發生轉變。A study of two comparable life-insurance policies offered by AIA in China and Hong Kong shows that mainland customers pay 48% more in premiums for the same amount of insurance. If they surrender the policy after 20 years, mainland customers get 26% less cash than their Hong Kong peers.
通過比較中國大陸和香港的友邦保險提供的兩個類似保單可以看出，爲了獲得相同的保障金額，大陸的客戶繳納的保費要高出48%。如果在20年後退保，大陸的客戶拿到的現金也比香港的要少26%。The two plans aren't exactly the same, but insurance brokers and agents in both Hong Kong and mainland China say they are similar. AIA stated that because the insurance coverage under these products is different and they are written in different currencies, they are not directly comparable.
這兩張保單並非完全一樣，但在中國大陸和香港的多位保險經紀和顧問認爲，它們具有比較價值。友邦保險則認爲，這兩種保險產品有所不同，它們的貨幣單位也不一樣，所以沒有辦法直接拿來做比較。One reason for the difference is that insurance companies get low returns in China, so they can pass on less to consumers. Another is China is a riskier place to offer life insurance because of less-than-healthy lifestyles, pollution and food scares, which are reflected in premiums. In fact, margins in the two markets are not that different, according to Kevin Strain, president of Canadian insurer Sunlife Financial Asia.
產生如此巨大差別的一個原因可能是保險公司在中國大陸獲得的投資回報更低，所以他們也沒辦法給客戶太高的回報。還有一個原因是中國大陸對保險公司來說是個高風險的市場，因爲中國人的生活方式不算太健康，還有空氣污染和食物中毒等各種因素，所以有必要提高保費。其實對保險公司來說，香港和大陸的利潤率是差不多的，加拿大永明金融亞洲總裁Kevin Strain說。Another reason to buy insurance overseas is that it is easier to borrow against the policies offshore, which flatters returns. Using their policy as collateral, buyers can borrow at a rate of about 2% from private banks in Hong Kong and get returns of 4% a year from the policy.
還有一個在海外買保險的理由是，更容易以保單作抵押借便宜的錢，這對提高回報是有好處的。在香港，買家可以以一年2%的成本從私人銀行借到錢，而投資在保單上可以獲得一年4%的回報。For those who want to pay in full, they can also borrow against their policy and invest in higher-yielding products. Banks are willing to lend cheaply against insurance policies, which have cash value and are more liquid than properties. The strategy is less attractive when interest rates are higher.
那些全款買保險的人，也可以把保單做抵押，再借出錢來，買一些高息產品。銀行一般比較樂意接受保單爲抵押品，因爲它們有現金價值，比房產等流動性強。不過利率上升後，這種策略就沒有那麼大吸引力了。Buying policies offshore also has its catches. Some medical plans don't cover mainland China. Currency movement is another risk. For those big policies, a medical examination is mandatory. Few Chinese businesspeople pass physical tests without any red flags such as high cholesterol levels, insurance brokers say. Chinese businesspeople often pay 7% to 10% more than people in Singapore or Taiwan, brokers said.
在海外買保險也有其問題。比如有些醫療計劃並不包括中國，匯率波動也是一個風險。對於高額保險來說，體檢是必需的。保險經紀說，中國有錢人很少能夠沒有任何問題地通過體檢，常見的毛病包括膽固醇偏高之類。中國商人往往要比新加坡和臺灣的投保人多給出7%到10%的保費以彌補他們身體的缺陷。But Chinese buyers often have age on their side. The same $1 million policy is a lot cheaper to buy at age 35 than it is for 50-year-olds.
但中國買家的優勢在於年輕。同樣一份100萬美元保額的保險，在35歲的時候買要比在50歲的時候買便宜得多。One life insurance benefit that drives sales in the U.S. is the strategy of using the tax-free proceeds from the policy to pay estate taxes. China currently doesn't have an estate tax, but the country is mulling one, so it isn't a bad idea to plan early. While jumbo insurance policies won't offer exciting returns, richer Chinese have unique reasons to like them now.
在美國，人壽保險賣得好的一個原因是財產繼承人可以用免稅的保險金來支付遺產稅。中國目前沒有遺產稅，但正在醞釀這個新稅種，所以早點計劃起來並非壞事。高額人壽保險不會帶來讓人驚喜的收入，但有錢的中國人有理由現在就開始喜歡它們。
