China's insurance sector has made a significant move into gold investments. Recently, China Life became the first domestic insurer to complete a gold transaction on the Shanghai Gold Exchange, signaling the official rollout of insurers' gold investment strategies.
The National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) has issued new regulations aimed at strengthening the supervision of commercial banks' third-party sales business. The Regulations on the Management of Commercial Banks' Third-Party Sales Business, recently released, emphasize stricter oversight of partner institutions, a more cautious approach to product approvals, and enhanced compliance in sales practices and distribution channels. The regulations will take effect on October 1, 2025.
On March 21, the National Healthcare Security Administration (NHSA) released the 2024 Medical Insurance Development Statistical Bulletin. According to the report, as of the end of 2024, the number of people enrolled in basic medical insurance reached 1.326bn, maintaining a 95% participation rate, with continuous improvements in coverage quality and structure.
China's pet insurance sector is heating up, with ZhongAn Online emerging as a dominant player. According to the company's latest annual report, its total pet insurance premiums surged 129.5% year-on-year in 2024, securing its position as the market leader. Based on previous disclosures, ZhongAn recorded CNY500m ($68.7m) in pet insurance transactions in 2023, suggesting that total premiums exceeded CNY1bn last year.
Recently, the National Financial Regulatory Administration (NFRA) has published its latest official registry of licensed insurance market players, detailing the composition of the nation's insurance sector as of December 2024.
China's insurance industry is increasingly adopting artificial intelligence (AI) models such as DeepSeek, with several insurers integrating the technology to enhance operational efficiency. While AI could help smaller insurers compete with larger firms by improving data analytics and customer experience, a new report from rating agency AM Best cautions that it also introduces regulatory and risk management challenges.
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.
DeepSeek AI is helping Chinese insurers enhance their operational efficiencies.
China's National Healthcare Security Administration's (NHSA) total expenditure of medical insurance fund has surpassed CNY16.5tn ($2.28tn) with an average annual growth rate of 11% during the last seven years since its inception.