As China's listed insurers prepare to release their third-quarter reports, a clear uptrend in industry performance is emerging. Since New China Life first issued its earnings forecast on 13 October, PICC P&C and China Life have also released announcements projecting profit growth of over 40% year-on-year for the first three quarters of 2025, with China Life leading with a 50%-70% increase.
JD.com has officially entered Hong Kong's insurance industry after its subsidiary, Jingda HK Trading Co Ltd received an insurance brokerage licence from the Insurance Authority on 14 October, according to information from the regulator's website on 23 October.
China's insurance industry continues to streamline its physical branch network. According to data from the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA), as of 22 October, a total of 2,565 insurance branches have withdrawn from the market this year, representing a 60% increase from the same period in 2024.
Southwestern University of Finance and Economics(SWUFE) has released China's first comprehensive report on the insurance trust sector, defining it for the first time as an independent industry. The report shows that China's insurance trust assets have exceeded CNY300bn($42.25bn), marking a new stage of orderly innovation and intensified competition.
Hong Kong insurers are preparing to roll out short-term insurance products in support of the upcoming "Guangdong Cars Go South" scheme, which is expected to launch as early as November, according to reports by China Banking and Insurance News.
China's insurance intermediary sector is undergoing another wave of consolidation amid intensified regulatory scrutiny. According to local media reports on 16 October, several insurance intermediaries have recently exited the market-voluntarily or otherwise-due to loss of contact or regulatory breaches.
These are the highlights for events and updates across the insurance industry this week.
These are the updates on insurance regulatory developments in China.
Moody's has affirmed the Baa1 insurance financial strength rating (IFSR) of ZhongAn Online P&C Insurance Co Ltd, and its Baa2 senior unsecured debt rating. The outlook has been revised to positive from stable.
UBS said in a recent report that the National Financial Regulatory Administration's new guidelines on promoting the high-quality development of health insurance are positive for the sector.