英国海外火险委员会及其在华机构研究

Research on Fire Office’s Committee Foreign and Its Local Association in China

英国海外火险委员会(Fire Office's Committee Foreign,简称FOCF,1869—1985年)是“日不落帝国”时期保险业垄断组织,力图操纵和支配世界火险市场,并旁及其他险种市场。FOCF组织运行系统的“神经中枢”是委员会议事制度,用以遥控世界各地的分支机构。19世纪末至20世纪初,FOCF陆续在上海、香港、天津、汉口等地设立分支机构,即四大洋商火险公会,并企图组建全国统一的洋商火险公会,从组织系统上完成了对旧中国保险市场的控制。本文主要探讨FOCF及其在华机构,四大洋商火险公会在机构设置上实行公会委员会负责制,对FOCF负责,接受FOCF管理。FOCF对四大洋商火险公会实施单一制管理模式,它们上下级关系明确、职责划分清晰,还设置了专门机构对四大洋商火险协会的活动进行控制和监督。总之,四大洋商火险公会是FOCF在中国保险市场的机构延展,它们在制度设计、市场控制等方面都与FOCF一脉相承。

Fire Office's Committee Foreign(FOCF,1869-1985)is an insurance monopoly organization in the“The Sun Never Sets Empire”period,trying to manipulate and dominate the world fire insurance market,and to be adjacent to other insurance markets.The“nerve center”of the FOCF organization's operational system is the committee's deliberative system for remote control of branches around the world.From the end of the 19th century to the beginning of the 20th century,FOCF successively set up branches in Shanghai,Hong Kong,Tientsin,Hankow and other places,namely the Four Local Association Of Fire Insurance in China,and attempted to form a national unified China fire insurance association,controlled the old Chinese insurance market from the organizational system.The contradiction between the Chinese business insurance industry and the FOCF is an important theme of the vast modern insurance industry in China.This article mainly discusses FOCF and its Local Association in China,and its historical materials are first announced.The Four Local Association Of Fire Insurance in China implement the guild committee responsibility system in the organization setting,are responsible to the FOCF,and accept FOCF management.The FOCF implements a unitary management model for the Four Local Association of Fire Insurance in China.They have clear relationship between superiors and subordinates,clear division of responsibilities,and set up special agencies to control and supervise the activities of the four foreign merchants fire insurance associations.In short,the Four Local Association of Fire Insurance in China are FOCF's institutional extensions in the Chinese insurance market.They are in line with FOCF in terms of system design and market control.