经济学人:英国曼岛的保险业 (2)

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which pays out a lump sum of millions of pounds to heirs in Singapore inheriting property in Britain, 向新加坡的英国遗产继承者一次性支付百万英镑，

allowing them to foot the inheritance-tax bill without needing to sell the properties. 这一保险让他们能够在不需要售卖财产的情况下支付遗产税。

But this policy at least has a large cash payout; many others are "wrappers" that simply fold existing assets into insurance payouts. 但是该保险至少要有一大笔现金支付；许多其他的政策就像包装袋一样，不过是将现有资产折成了保险理赔。

Reasons to buy range from wealth protection—from high taxes, government expropriation or succession squabbles—to tax arbitrage². 购买这些保险的原因，从财富保护—比如高税收、政府征收或是继承权之争—到税收套利，各不相同。

In many countries the proceeds of a life-insurance policy attract less tax than a direct inheritance. 在很多国家，一份人寿保险的收益税少于一次直接继承所收的税。

Unhappily for Manx firms, these products are sold with hefty commissions. Some of their brokers³ in far-flung countries charge 6-7% of a policy's value. 不幸的是，对曼岛的公司来说，出售这些产品能获取高额的佣金。其中一些遥远国度的经纪人的收费是一项保险单价值的6-7%。

Though that is similar to commissions in onshore jurisdictions—around 6% in Ireland, for instance— 虽然这和岸上司法管辖区的佣金差不多—例如在爱尔兰约为6% —

onshore life insurance is mainly about death benefits, annuities⁴ and to an extent savings⁵. 岸上人寿保险主要是关于死亡抚恤金、养老金以及一定程度上的储蓄金。

A better comparator for Manx products is financial advice, where commissions have been slashed⁶. 对曼岛的产品来说，一个更好的对比是财务咨询，财务咨询业务的佣金已经被削减。

In Britain financial advisers⁷ must charge retail⁸ investors⁹ fixed¹⁰ fees rather than commissions, to avoid conflicts of interest. 在英国，财政顾问可以向散户收取固定费用但不能收取佣金，以此避免利益冲突。

Business might shift to avoid the new rules. One Manx official worries about competition from the British Virgin¹¹ Islands. 该行业或许会为了规避新的规则而转移。一名曼岛官员担心来自英属维尔京群岛的竞争。

Or clients boggling at the newly revealed fees may switch to a different sort of vehicle for asset protection, 或者对新披露费用犹豫不决的客户会转而寻求不同种类的资产保护工具，

for example the trusts in which Jersey¹² and Guernsey, also Crown dependencies, specialise. 比如同属王权属地的泽西岛和根西岛所专注的信托业务。

The Isle¹³ of Man will still benefit from a stable legal environment and specialist talent. 曼岛仍将从一个稳定的法律环境和专业才能中获益。

It already offers some products that rely on neither Britain's tax forbearance nor rich individuals elsewhere. 它已经提供了一些既不依赖于英国收税延展也不依赖于别处富有个人的产品。

Notably¹⁴, the Manx operations of Zurich Insurance, a global insurer, focus on life-insurance and pensions schemes for the employees of multinational¹⁵ firms. 全球保险公司苏黎世保险在曼岛开展的业务尤其专注于为跨国公司的员工提供人寿保险和养老金项目。

But the island's financial industry will have to diversify¹⁶: to new types of customers such as corporations, for example, or to products that are less dependent on brokers. 但是该岛的金融行业将不得不寻求多样化：例如开发新的客户类型，如公司，或者提供对经纪人依赖较少的产品。

 

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