A total of 79 insurance intermediaries were forced out of the market for poor management or violation of rules in the first half of this year, the China Insurance Regulatory Commission said.

The list of failures comprised 64 insurance agencies, five brokerage companies and 10 adjusting firms. Market forces were wiping out companies that failed to withstand the fierce competition and would boost the healthy development of the market, CIRC officials said. The insurance intermediary market experienced a boom after market access requirements were lowered in 2003. Among the intermediaries forced out in the first half, more than 80 percent were insurance agencies, which suffered losses totaling 23.61 million yuan in 2006.