Growth of China’s life market slackens in 2009
China’s insurance industry has been
praised by the chairman of the China Insurance Regulatory
Commission (CIRC), Wu Ding-fu, for meeting the challenge of what he
termed the most difficult year for the country’s economy since
2000. The industry, he said, produced results “beyond
expectations”.
Specifically, the industry’s premium income
exceeded the CNY1 trillion ($146 billion) mark for the first time,
coming in 13.8 percent higher than in 2008 at CNY1.11 trillion. The
industry achieved year-on-year premium income growth of 39.1
percent in 2008.
The non-life insurance sector was the primary
growth driver in 2009, with the CIRC reporting it had achieved a
23.1 percent increase in premium income to CNY288 billion.
|
The Big
Three
|
|
China – market share of top life
insurers (%)
|
| |
China Life
|
Ping An
|
China Pacific
|
|
2000
|
65
|
22
|
8
|
|
2001
|
57
|
28.7
|
10
|
|
2002
|
57
|
23
|
11
|
|
2003
|
53.8
|
19.6
|
10.4
|
|
2004
|
47.8
|
17.2
|
9.9
|
|
2005
|
44.1
|
16.1
|
12.8
|
|
2006
|
45.3
|
17
|
11.3
|
|
2007
|
39.7
|
16
|
10.2
|
|
2008
|
40.3
|
13.8
|
9
|
|
2009
|
35.7
|
16
|
8.2
|
|
Source: Company publications; Xinhua
|
In the life insurance sector, premium income
of CNY826 billion was recorded, up 10.9 percent compared with 2008
when growth of 49.1 percent was achieved.
In terms of sales growth, 2009 was a winning
year for the second-largest of China’s big-three life insurers,
Ping An, which reported premium income of CNY132.3 billion, up 30.8
percent from CNY101 billion in 2008.
This gave Ping An a market share of just over
16 percent compared with 13.8 percent in 2008.
Market leader China Life did not fare as well,
with premium income down 0.2 percent to CNY295 billion and its
market share slipping from 40.3 percent in 2008 to 35.7 percent in
2009, the lowest level in the insurer’s history.
The decline in market share came despite China
Life boosting its exclusive agent sales-force from 716,000 at the
end of 2008 to 750,000 at the end of 2009, and the number of bank
sales outlets increasing from 94,000 to 97,000.
The smallest of the big-three life insurers,
China Pacific Life, also lost ground in 2009, with premium income
of CNY67.6 billion a mere 2.3 percent higher than the CNY66.1
billion reported in 2008. China Pacific’s market share fell from 9
percent in 2008 to 8.2 percent.
Faring far better was the country’s
fourth-largest insurer, New China Life, which generated premium
income of CNY66.78 billion in premium income in 2009, 19.9 percent
more than in 2008.
This increased the insurer’s market share from
7.6 percent to 8.1 percent and brought it to within striking
distance of ousting China Pacific from its position as China’s
third-largest life insurer.