Premium renewal has stumped customers.

The Hexie Health mutual aid group now has over 100 members. Photo provided by interviewees.

"I've seen cases where they don't pay claims, but I've never seen cases where they don't collect money."

After buying insurance for 8 years, Wang Fang (pseudonym) encountered something unusual. In early September, as the grace period for her Health Enjoyment Critical Illness Insurance was about to expire, she deposited the full renewal premium into her bank card at the end of August, but the insurer Hexie Health consistently failed to successfully deduct the payment.

After multiple negotiations with the insurance company, Wang Fang's policy still lapsed due to non-payment within the grace period. On September 12, Hexie Health successively completed the deductions, and Wang Fang's policy was ultimately reinstated.

Wang Fang's renewal premium deduction failure is not an isolated case. A group called "Hexie Health Mutual Aid" has gathered over 100 people. Reporters learned through interviews that some Hexie Health customers recently experienced payment difficulties, mainly concentrated in late August to early September, with critical illness insurance products being the primary focus.

A person close to Hexie Health stated that due to system upgrades, some customers indeed encountered renewal premium deduction failures. As of September 12, all affected customers' renewal payment issues have been fully resolved, and waiting periods will not be recalculated, with coverage rights unaffected.

Wang Fang's policy lapsed due to unsuccessful deduction during the grace period. Photo provided by interviewee.

Premium renewal stumps customers

In 2017, Wang Fang purchased Health Enjoyment Critical Illness Insurance online, underwritten by Hexie Health. On July 9 this year, the insurance should have processed its 9th renewal deduction, but due to personal reasons, Wang Fang didn't deposit the full premium into her bank card until late August.

The policy's grace period expired on September 7. Around August 30, after Wang Fang deposited the full premium into her bank card, the insurance company still failed to successfully deduct payment by the grace period's end.

On September 8, Wang Fang received an SMS from Hexie Health about her critical illness insurance policy lapsing.

"Actually, after depositing the money in my bank card, I called Hexie Health several times. They replied that the system showed bank card payment failure, and the specific reason was still being verified. I checked with the bank - there were no limits on my bank card, and I tested it myself - fund transfers in and out worked fine," Wang Fang told reporters. She contacted the insurance company's customer service and sent messages to the platform where she bought the insurance, providing four bank cards from China Construction Bank (2 cards), Bank of China, and Ping An Bank, but none successfully processed the deduction.

On September 13, Wang Fang received another SMS stating that renewal premiums had been successfully paid via bank transfer.

Reporters learned through interviews that some customers' policy grace periods were in late August or early September, with Hexie Health failing to deduct premiums for an extended period.

Zhang Li (pseudonym), who purchased Hexie Fule Critical Illness Insurance, also had her policy lapse due to failed deductions during the grace period.

"My policy's grace period deadline was at the end of August. On August 28, I deposited the money into my bank card. Normally, the insurance company should automatically deduct payment before the grace period expires, but by August 31, the money still hadn't been withdrawn. On September 1, my policy lapsed," Zhang Li told reporters.

During this period, Zhang Li consulted Hexie Health customer service multiple times but received no clear response.

On September 11, Zhang Li brought bank statements and cash to Hexie Health Insurance's Beijing office location. After multiple rounds of negotiations, she still couldn't successfully make the payment that day.

"Their reason was that my policy was sold in Heilongjiang and belongs to Heilongjiang, so some business couldn't be processed," Zhang Li told reporters, saying she couldn't accept this explanation.

Zhao Na's (pseudonym) experience was a different version. Besides unsuccessful deductions, she signed a document on September 8 titled "Hexie Health Insurance Co., Ltd. Guangdong Branch Product Deduction Exception Service Communication Information Form," which stated "no misleading occurred during product sales, this was a voluntary purchase, and I will not file regulatory complaints for full refunds for any reason in the future."

Zhao Na told reporters: "This critical illness insurance was for my husband. Payment was never deducted, and the grace period expires at the end of October. Initially, I didn't sign this information form, but seeing continuous bad news in the group, after consulting professionals to delete the 'will not file regulatory complaints for full refunds for any reason' clause, I still signed it. After signing on September 8, deduction only succeeded on September 12, when many group members had already reported successful deductions."

Zhao Na was most worried about policy lapse: "After all, my current physical condition is quite different from when I first bought the policy years ago. Repurchasing critical illness insurance would require new health disclosures, which isn't cost-effective."

Multiple interviewees told reporters that in the early hours of September 12, members of the "Hexie Health Mutual Aid" group gradually reported receiving deduction notifications, and subsequently, Wang Fang's, Zhang Li's, and Zhao Na's renewal premiums were successfully collected.

Insurance contract explanation of grace period and contract effect suspension. Photo provided by interviewee.

Critical illness insurance "affected" - what impact does policy reinstatement have?

The insurance grace period can be understood as a financial buffer period insurers provide to policyholders.

According to the insurance contract Zhang Li provided, the grace period refers to "when paying insurance premiums in installments, after paying the first premium, unless otherwise specified in this contract, if premiums are not paid when due, there is a 60-day grace period starting from the day after the agreed premium payment date. For insured events occurring during the grace period, our company will still bear insurance responsibility, but will deduct unpaid premiums when paying insurance benefits."

The contract further stipulates: "Unless otherwise agreed, if premiums remain unpaid after the grace period ends, this contract's effect will be suspended from the day after the grace period expires. Simultaneously, rider contract effects are suspended. During our contract's suspension period, we bear no insurance responsibility."

Setting grace periods and contract effect suspension after non-payment beyond the grace period is almost "standard equipment" for long-term insurance contracts.

This Hexie Health "payment storm" seemingly concluded with premium transfers, but customers' concerns haven't been fully resolved.

Reporters learned through interviews that Hexie Health customers currently have three main questions. First, the official reason for unsuccessful deductions from late August to early September has still not received a formal response. Second, since failed deductions mainly involved critical illness insurance with geographically dispersed customers, why were these specific products and customer batches unsuccessful, and whether Hexie Health Insurance involves "precision risk control" issues? Additionally, can customers' original rights be protected when lapsed policies are reinstated?

From insurance contracts, reinstatement may involve issues like recalculating waiting periods. Zhang Li's insurance contract shows: "The 90-day period from this contract's effective date (or last reinstatement date) is the waiting period."

Yang Zeyun, a finance department teacher at Beijing Union University Business School, told reporters that main impacts of policy reinstatement after suspension include potentially needing to pay premium interest; suicide clauses being recalculated; some medical health or critical illness insurance needing waiting period recalculation; and some medical health insurance possibly requiring re-examination of the insured's health status, thereby affecting insurance coverage scope.

However, Wang Fang said that on September 15, she received a call from Hexie Health customer service, with the representative clearly stating: "The policy was successfully deducted on September 12, and the policy has no waiting period."

Some customers still question Hexie Health's service: "Surely we won't have to pay premiums like this every year?"

A person close to Hexie Health stated that due to system upgrades, some customers indeed encountered renewal premium deduction failures. As of September 12, all affected customers' renewal payment issues have been fully resolved, and waiting periods will not be recalculated, with coverage rights unaffected. Previously, premiums were mainly automatically deducted through banking systems; currently, customers can also directly complete payment operations independently through the app.

Public information shows Hexie Health was approved for operation in 2006, as one of the national, specialized health insurance companies. In March 2020, with approval from the former China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission, Fujia Group acquired a 51% stake to become Hexie Health's controlling shareholder.

Hexie Health's official website shows that since 2017, the insurer has suspended annual report disclosure for multiple consecutive years, and still hasn't released its 2024 annual report. Hexie Health's published "2024 Corporate Social Responsibility Report" shows that as of the end of 2024, the insurer's total assets were 452.05 billion yuan.