Top Biz News

Insurance premiums on steady rise

By Sun Min (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-07-21 08:56

China's insurance premiums rose 13.7 per cent year-on-year in the first six months of this year to 308 billion yuan (US$38.5 billion), figures from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) showed yesterday.

Life insurance premiums, including health and accident, totalled 228.9 billion yuan (US$28.6 billion) during the period, up 12.7 per cent year-on-year, while property insurance was up 16.7 per cent.

Insurance compensation and payment totalled 64.2 billion yuan (US$8 billion) in China during the period, compared to 53.9 billion yuan (US$6.7 billion) a year ago.

Robust economic growth, rising insurance awareness and widened investment channels have driven the steady rise of the life insurance market in China, experts said.

An increasing amount of insurance policies sold over bank counters was also a major contributor to the growth of the life insurance market.

China Life Insurance Co, the biggest life insurer in China, said earlier this week that its first-half-year premium income rose 22 per cent to 111.4 billion yuan (US$13.9 billion).

Shenzhen-based Ping An Insurance (Group) Co Ltd, China Life's biggest rival, also said yesterday that its premiums increased by 27 per cent to 46.1 billion yuan (US$5.8 billion) in the first six months of this year.

About 81 per cent of the income was from life insurance while the rest came from property and casualty, the Hong Kong-listed company said in a statement.

The figures were all unaudited and based on Chinese accounting standards.

Shares of Ping An and China Life rose by 3.59 and 1.99 per cent in Hong Kong yesterday, respectively.

Also in a statement issued yesterday, PICC Property & Casualty Co, China's biggest non-life insurer, said its premiums rose 5 per cent to 39.1 billion (US$4.9 billion) in the first two quarters from a year ago.