China has become the world's third largest insurance market, driven by the surging insurance premiums in the country. (Photo : REUTERS)
Data from the China Insurance Regulatory Commission (CIRC) showed that China has become the world's third largest insurance market in 2015, as insurance premiums continue to grow in the past five years, the Xinhua News Agency reported.
According to the CIRC data, insurance premiums increased from 1.3 trillion yuan (about $197.9 million) in 2010 to 2.4 trillion yuan in 2015, with an annual growth rate of 13.4 percent.
The report said that the insurance market in the world's second largest economy continues to expand, as the total assets of China's insurance industry has more than doubled from 5 trillion yuan in 2010 to 12 trillion yuan in 2015.
Experts noted that the performance of the industry may be attributed to the country's growing economy and improving living standards of the people.
The report, however, said that despite the booming market, insurance companies in the country have also experienced bumper years.
The data further showed that profits of the whole insurance sector totaled 282.4 billion yuan in 2015, compared to only 83.7 billion yuan in 2010, back when China was the world's sixth largest insurance market.
The report said that China contributed 26 percent of the growth of global insurance market in 2015.
A report by cctv-america.com in Nov. 2015 said that China's insurance sector is among the leaders in the country in terms of better access to investors, as foreign insurers enjoy the same treatment as domestic peers.
Australian national Yin Xiaosong, general manager at Ergo Life Insurance, one of the first batch of insurers to test waters in the Chinese market, said: "We are now almost enjoying the same kind of treatment compared with local insurance companies, especially in areas like life insurance and property insurance. And also in terms of business coverage, regions and product lines, the differences are getting smaller."
The report said that foreign insurers gained access to the car insurance market in 2012, and more changes followed as some 56 foreign insurance companies from 16 countries have set up shops in China and others followed suit.
Last year, CIRC data showed that China's insurance companies' profits rose an estimated 95 percent year-on-year to reach 244 billion yuan ($ 38.4 billion) in the first three quarters of 2015.
