Chinese insurers posted 1.19 trillion yuan or US$184 billion in premium revenues in the first quarter of 2016, according to the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC).
The regulator said the total premium income across the industry in the first quarter grew by 42.18% from the same period in 2015, the state-run China Daily reported.
The report said the industry’s life insurance segment outperformed the property and auto insurance businesses. CIRC official Bai Yun said the attractive rate of life insurance products helped increase their premium revenues.
"The revenue growth has also been supported by the boom in sales through banking channels," China Daily quoted Bai as saying.
The CIRC said foreign insurers also posted a 71.68% year-on-year growth in their premium revenues while their market share rose by 0.94% to 5.4%.
Despite the increase in premium income, the CIRC expects the profit of Chinese insurers to drop in the first quarter due to a slowing economy and a volatile capital market.
According to the regulator, insurers’ total profits will decline by 55.29%, with life insurers bearing a possible 72.56% drop in profit.
