Life & Non-Life Insurance Market in China - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Life & Non-Life Insurance Market in China - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Key Highlights

• The life & non-life insurance market in China is estimated to record a CAGR of approximately 6% during the forecast period.
• Chinese insurance companies collected premium, accumulating CNY 3.96 trillion (USD 574.3 billion) in the first 11 months of 2019, a growth of 11.8%. China’s insurance sector grew by 3.9% Y-o-Y in terms of insurance premiums in 2018. China is the world's second-largest insurance market after the United States. In 2018, premiums in China stood at USD 456 billion, contributing 48% of total premiums in Asia, excluding Japan.
• The China Banking and Insurance Regulatory Commission has allowed foreign investors to raise their stakes in life insurance companies to 100% from January 1, 2020, from the previous ceiling of 51%, the removal of the ownership cap to enhance the effectiveness of foreign-owned insurers in formulating and executing their business strategy in terms of product offerings, risk management, asset-liability management, corporate governance, and investment allocation approach. Greater participation from institutional investors focused on long-term investment outcomes may help diversify the domestic capital markets and reduce dependency on retail investors.
• Foreign life insurers generally focus on margin and value creation and are more prudent in risk management. The removal of the ownership limit will give foreign investors the chance to buy out their local shareholders, which will give the foreign companies greater or full flexibility in determining and implementing their strategies. This reduces internal conflicts between foreign and local shareholders as well as the cost of internal communication.

Key Market TrendsIncrease in the Number of Insurance Companies in the Market:

The number of insurance companies is increasing in the market. In the coming years, the number may increase further, as China’s insurance regulatory commission allowed FDI investments in insurance to 100% before FDI investments in insurance were limited to 51%. Revision of insurance regulations will attract more market participants in the sector, stimulate market strength, push Chinese and foreign-invested financial institutions to improve their competitiveness, and thus, benefit China in regard to learning from advanced international ideas and experience. The further opening of China and the establishment of a fair market environment will greatly help to promote full competition in the Chinese insurance sector, improve the shareholding structure of related financial institutions, regulate shareholder behavior, and form a rational and diversified market system.

Increase in Insurtech Funding Transactions - New Dawn for the Chinese Insurance Industry

There are 122 insurance tech startups in China. The Chinese insurance market has doubled over the last six years. However, insurance penetration is comparatively less in developed markets, with approximately 3.5% to 4%. Zhong An Online P&C Insurance offers online property and casualty insurance services. It is China’s first online-only insurer, whose initial investors included Alibaba’s finance arm, Tencent, and Ping An Insurance (Group) Co. The largest shareholder is Alibaba's affiliate Zhejiang Ant Small & Micro Financial Services Group. Zhong An has developed more than 100 products and sold 1.6 billion insurance policies for more than 250 million customers since the commencement. The company also has a license for motor insurance. InsurTech companies are increasing across countries nowadays where a variety of technologies are set to transform the traditional insurance industry. Many insurers have already transformed themselves digitally to offer convenience, security, choice, and comparison to their customers.

Competitive Landscape

The report covers the major players operating in the life & non-life insurance market in China. The market is consolidated and major market share is captured by a few companies. The life & non-life insurance market is likely to grow during the forecast period, due to the steps taken by the government to deregulate and increase FDI in insurance and other few factors.

Additional Benefits:

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support

Please note: This publisher does offer titles that are created upon receipt of order. If you are purchasing a PDF Email Delivery option above, the report will take approximately 2 business days to prepare and deliver.