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International insurance brokers are interested in expanding their businesses in China, due to the opportunities the market presents, officials have said.
The gradual opening up of the Chinese insurance sector, as well as the massive economic and infrastructure projects involved in the Belt and Road Initiative, are attractive to these companies, according to a report by China Daily.
At the Boao Forum in April, People’s Bank of China governor Yi Gang said that China will undertake measures to open up its financial market, including improving ease-of-access for foreign firms and promoting fair and healthy competition among foreign and domestic companies. He also indicated that qualified foreign investors will be allowed to operate insurance brokerages.
British risk management and reinsurance provider Aon is one of the earliest brokerages to take hold of the market. Its joint venture with state-owned grains and food company COFCO has been operating since 2003. Aon-COFCO is now a leading provider of risk management, insurance, and reinsurance broking services in the country.
“Measures that enable the same treatment will help foreign brokers to expand business to more small and medium-sized enterprises and even to individual citizens,” Wu Qing, general manager of Aon-COFCO, was quoted as saying by China Daily. “For a long time, insurance has been a seller’s market in China, but after it was opened to foreign brokers, we have been able to offer detailed analysis for clients and help them find suitable insurers.”
“Widening the business scope of foreign insurance brokers will help improve the domestic brokerage market as the foreign companies will introduce their experiences into China and enhance the cooperation between the domestic and foreign companies,” Zhu Junsheng, insurance researcher at the Development Research Centre of the State Council, added.
