China's medical insurance fund achieved a balanced budget in 2024. In fact, it also achieved slight surplus, which will ensure the safety and sustainability of the fund.
The number of major accidents and resulting fatalities in China in 2024 saw a significant year-on-year decline of nearly 50% according to the ministry of emergency management.
On 10 January, the Insurance Association of China (IAC) convened a meeting of the Life Insurance Liability Reserve Assessment Rate Expert Advisory Committee to analyze the current macroeconomic environment, capital markets, and interest rate trends. Industry experts discussed assumed interest rates for life insurance products, concluding that the research value for the current assumed interest rate of standard life insurance products is 2.34%.
On 10 January, China Life announced that its cumulative original premium income for 2024 reached approximately CNY671.7bn ($94.04bn), representing a 4.7% year-on-year increase.
As 2025 begins, regulatory announcements continue to highlight the closure of insurance branches, reflecting the ongoing trend of streamlining operations across the industry.
For the life insurance agency channel, 2024 was a challenging year marked by transformation and survival efforts. Faced with macroeconomic adjustments, pressure from "unified commission reporting," and declining product interest rates, many agencies had no choice but to adapt to avoid stagnation and decline. Without changes, they risked shrinking market share, high attrition rates, and structural instability.
These are the highlights for all events and updates across the industry this week.
These are the updates on insurance regulation across China this week.
On 10 January, the China Financial Regulatory Administration (CFRA) reported that after a 6.8-magnitude earthquake struck Dingri County in Shigatse, Tibet, the CFRA quickly activated an emergency response.
On 8 January, the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) approved Taiping Reinsurance (China) and Bank of China Insurance to set up reinsurance operation centres in Shanghai's Pudong New Area. These centres are authorized to handle reinsurance business as permitted by regulatory authorities and within their company mandates.