China's biggest life insurer, China Life, has announced a 30.7% plunge in net profit for 2023 to CNY46.2bn due to its investment performance.
Chinese insurers' investment returns, which account for a large share of their total earnings, are under pressure from declining interest rates and high stock market volatility in onshore markets, says Fitch Ratings.
China Taiping Insurance Group's reinsurance business saw net profits fall by more than a fifth (-22.8%) to HK$333.04m ($42.6m) in 2023, according to financial statements presented by the company.
Hong Kong-listed ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance, China's first online-only insurer, marked the 10th anniversary of its establishment with a turnaround in its financial performance, chalking up its highest net profit to date in the 2023 financial year.
Leading insurance companies in China such as PICC, Ping An, and China Pacific (CPIC), and others, have set up their own independent technology units to conduct special research on insurance for new-energy vehicles (NEVs), according to Mr Zhang Lei, founder and co-CEO of Nasdaq-listed Cheche Group.
Guangzhou-registered Allianz Jingdong General Insurance Company's financial performance and earnings are expected to improve gradually, after slowing its business growth in 2024 and focussing on underwriting risk selection, according to Fitch Ratings.
CITIC Prudential Life (CPL), which is Prudential's 50-50 joint venture in mainland China, saw new business profit fall by 40% reflecting both lower volumes and adverse economic impact, Prudential says in a media release on its 2023 financial results.
Hong Kong-listed China Taiping Insurance Holdings Co (CTIH) increased its net profit after tax by 23.0% to HK$10.3bn ($1.3bn) in 2023, compared to the previous year.
Huatai Property & Casualty Insurance (Huatai P&C) is expected to improve its underwriting performance gradually over the next two years, says Fitch Ratings.
The National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) has said that the coverage of China's basic medical insurance is stable at over 95% and that the quality of the system had continuously improved.