Recently, news of a senior HR manager at China Life Insurance mocking a job seeker on the Kanzhun Limited platform, stating that "a bachelor's degree doesn't qualify you for a two-day weekend," sparked widespread discussion. Beyond the public focus, a more alarming issue is the long-standing chaos in the insurance industry's recruitment practices – so-called "back-office positions" are often just a lure for job seekers, with the ultimate goal actually being to recruit insurance agents.
From HR and administration to finance and claims specialist roles, various seemingly respectable job titles, paired with promises of monthly salaries ranging from 8,000 to 10,000 yuan, entice many applicants. However, upon attending interviews, numerous individuals discover that the core work remains selling insurance. Some leave immediately, while others, adopting a "since I'm here, I might as well try" mindset, give it a shot, only to find three months later that they have become the team's sole customer.
As these tactics become increasingly recognized, the traditional model of "attracting clients under the guise of hiring back-office staff" is gradually losing its effectiveness. Some insurance company team leaders have begun devising new tricks, upgrading the "selling dog meat labeled as sheep's head" scheme, even misleading job seekers under banners like "Event Hosting Specialist" or "High-End Club Specialist." In November 2023, a job seeker named Wang Li (pseudonym) encountered such an elaborately designed recruitment scam on the Kanzhun Limited platform.
At that time, a job posting from Yu Feng Zhi Dian Club Management Services (Beijing) Co., Ltd. caught Wang Li's eye. The position was labeled as Club Sales Specialist/Marketing Lecturer, boasting a guaranteed base salary as high as 6,000–8,000 yuan, with an additional 15% team commission, potentially pushing monthly earnings to between 20,000 and 35,000 yuan.
The job description was even more attractive: conducting activity marketing in a five-person team model, responsible for VIP client reception, activity explanation and hosting, and even participating in on-site services for commercial performances, cultural events, golf, and high-end scenarios like camping within Beijing. The name "Yu Feng Zhi Dian" itself carried an upscale connotation, making such a salary and job combination quite rare in the job market.
Full of anticipation, Wang Li went to the interview location at Zhuangsheng Plaza, Xuanwumen, Xicheng District, Beijing. However, the scene there immediately raised his suspicions: the so-called "club office area" was plastered and filled with promotional materials for Rui Zhong Life Insurance Co., Ltd., completely lacking the atmosphere of a high-end club. Faced with Wang Li's doubts, the interviewer, Wu Moumou, finally admitted that the role was actually for sales work at Rui Zhong Life Insurance, and the recruit would need to become an insurance agent. Wu Moumou's true identity was the Director of the Tian Chuang Department at the Beijing Branch Head Office Operations Management Office of Rui Zhong Life Insurance.
Although Wang Li initially had no intention of working in insurance sales, Wu Moumou continuously painted a rosy picture, promising high salaries and access to batches of high-net-worth client resources, which eventually made him consider giving it a try. Ultimately, Wang Li passed the interview, obtained an employee ID, and became an insurance agent under Wu Moumou's team. Qichacha information shows that Wu Moumou was once a shareholder of Yu Feng Zhi Dian Club, holding a 30% stake, which also facilitated the misuse of the club's name for recruitment.
Reality quickly shattered the illusion. "From joining until I realized I was being tricked, I didn't receive a single yuan of base salary for five consecutive months, let alone social security or housing fund contributions," Wang Li admitted. What shocked him even more was that during November-December 2023 and January 2024, Wu Moumou continuously posted recruitment information on Kanzhun Limited misusing the name of Yu Feng Zhi Dian, using the same persuasive tactics to convert approximately 30 applicants into insurance sales agents for his own team, including many attracted by the "Event Hosting Specialist" title.
After realizing his rights were infringed upon, Wang Li collected complete evidence, including Kanzhun Limited chat records and interview screenshots, and filed a complaint with the Beijing Financial Regulatory Bureau. The regulatory investigation results were clear and forceful: the reported issue concerning Rui Zhong Life Insurance Beijing Branch insurance sales personnel improperly posting recruitment information alone was "verified as true." This behavior violated Article 2 of the "Notice on Matters Related to Strengthening and Improving the Management of Insurance Sales Personnel" issued by the former China Insurance Regulatory Commission in 2009. The Beijing Financial Regulatory Bureau has taken regulatory measures according to the law.
According to the aforementioned notice requirements, insurance companies must formulate standardized, unified recruitment policies, standards, and processes, and establish dedicated departments responsible for the recruitment management of insurance sales personnel; moderately centralize and elevate recruitment authority, prohibiting the authorization of current insurance sales personnel to recruit alone in any form; and strictly prohibit misleading behaviors and false advertising in recruitment by grassroots institutions and personnel. As a team director, Wu Moumou's solo recruitment misusing a third-party's name clearly crossed the regulatory red line.
Behind such违规招聘 lies the long-standing dilemma of the "massive manpower tactic" in the insurance industry. Data shows that in recent years, the 12-month employee turnover rate for some insurance teams has exceeded 90%, meaning for every 100 people recruited, fewer than 10 ultimately remain. For some team leaders, training newcomers is far less effective than "headhunting" – they don't need to focus on retention rates; they just need to continuously recruit new people, who, along with their friends and family, can become the team's "potential clients." Although this "headhunting" approach promoted insurance penetration during a specific stage, it severely damaged the industry's reputation, representing a typical case of "drinking poison to quench thirst."
It is noteworthy that the involved Rui Zhong Life Insurance has a unique industry background. Its predecessor was Huaxia Life Insurance, which was taken over by the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission in 2020 due to operational issues. Three years later, Rui Zhong Life Insurance officially commenced operations, legally assuming all insurance business, corresponding assets, and liabilities of Huaxia Life Insurance.
As a state-owned nationwide life insurance company with a registered capital of 56.5 billion yuan, Rui Zhong Life Insurance achieved a total premium scale of 236.8 billion yuan in 2024, serving over 40 million individual customers. However, alongside its impressive performance, compliance issues have frequently occurred.
According to incomplete statistics, from 2024 to date, Rui Zhong Life Insurance's headquarters and various branches have cumulatively received 17 regulatory penalties. Reasons for penalties include false advertising, data falsification, and infringement of consumer rights, among others. This违规招聘 incident at the Beijing branch once again exposes vulnerabilities in its grassroots management.
Currently, the insurance industry is undergoing profound transformation. The number of agents plummeted from a peak of 9.73 million in 2019 to 5.707 million in 2025, a loss of over 4 million in four years, with an average annual attrition rate exceeding 55%. The traditional model of "low-threshold recruitment, high-commission驱动" is no longer sustainable. Simultaneously, the "Financial Institution Compliance Management Measures," effective March 1, 2025, require financial institutions to establish a full-process compliance management system, pushing the industry from "passive regulatory compliance" towards "active compliance governance."
For Rui Zhong Life Insurance, it must both digest the historical risks from the former Huaxia Life Insurance and address compliance challenges in its new business. Industry insiders point out that as regulations continue to tighten, compliant operation has become the core prerequisite for the stable development of insurance enterprises.
In the future, only by abandoning the extensive recruitment model of "drinking poison to quench thirst," improving internal controls, and standardizing recruitment processes can the industry rebuild trust and achieve high-quality development. For job seekers, it is crucial to remain vigilant when faced with insurance-related recruitment information, verify the company's qualifications and the authenticity of the position, and avoid falling into "recruitment traps."
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